BIOLOGt 


LOCKED 
CASE 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 


PRESENTED  BY 

PROF.  CHARLES  A.  KOEOID  AND 

MRS.  PRUDENCE  W.  KOEOID 


THE 

FRIEND    TO   HEALTH, 

BEING    A    SELECTION^    OF 

VALUABLE  TRUTHS 

RELATING    TO    THE 

FRESERVATIGST  OF  HEALTH? 

FROM   THE    WORKS   OF 

THATCHER,  TRANKLIN,  THOMPSON, 
SALZMANN,  &1C. 

BOSTON: 

MARSH   AND   CAPEN oC)2   WASHlNfJTON   STREET. 


BOUEN    AND    GUSHING,    PRINTKR9. 

182G. 


District  of  Massachusetts  to  wit : 

District  Clerk's  Office. 

BE  IT  REMEMBEflED,  That  on  the  eighth  day  of  August, 
A.  D,  1826,  in  the  fifty-first  year  of  the  Independence  of  the 
United  States  of  America,  Marsh  &  Capen  of  the  said  District, 
have  deposited  in  this  Office,  the  Title  of  a  Book  the  Right  where- 
of they  claim  as  Proprietors  in  the  words  following,  to  wit  : 

"  The  Friend  to  Health,  being  a  selection  of  Valuable  Truths 
relating  to  the  Preservation  of  Health,  from  the  works  of  Thatcher, 
Franklin,  Thompsoi).  Salzmann,  &c." 

In  Conformity  to  the  Act  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States, 
entitled  *•'  An  Act  for  the  Encouragement  of  Learning,  by  securing 
ihe  Copies  of  Maps,  Charts  and  Books,  to  the  Authors  and  Pro- 
prietors of  such  C'-'pies,  during  the  times  therein  mentioned:"  and 
al«o  to  an  Act  entitled  "An  Act  supplementary  to  an  Act,  en- 
titled, An  Act  for  the  encouragement  of  Learning,  by  securing  the 
<'opies  of  Maps,  Charts  and  Books  to  the  Authors  and  Proprietors 
of  such  Copies  during  the  times  therein  mentioned  ;  and  extending 
the  Benefits  thereof  to  the  Arts  of  Designing,  Engraving  and 
Etching  Historical  and  other  Prints." 

JNO.  W.  DAVIS, 
Clerk  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 


PREFACE. 

LOCKED 


If  some  things  are  to  be  studied  more  tiiaii  others, 
they  are  those  that  we  hav^e  most  to  do  with,  and  on 
which  our  heahh  and  existence  depends.  It  is  too 
frequently  the  case  that  things  becoming  common  in 
their  use,  and  famihar  to  the  sight,  are  laid  aside  as 
unimportant,  as  unworthy  of  constant  consideration. 

The  mind,  unconscious  in  many  instances  of  its 
own  good,  seeks  and  explores  no  farther  than  to  an- 
swer the  immediate  wants  of  necessity,  and  thereby 
subjects  itself  to  inconveniences  that  a  little  attention 
and  study  might  well  avoid. 

A  knowledge  of  the  air  that  we  breathe  ;  of  the 
beneficial  effects  of  exercise  ;  the  proper  measure  of 
time  for  sleep  ;  of  healthy  food  and  drink  ;  and,  in 
short,  of  all  things  that  in  any  way  stand  in  relation 
to  health,  is  not  merely  satisfactory,  but  necessary. 

And  he  who  would  excuse  himself  from  the  trif- 
ling task  of  acquiring  that  knowledge  whereby  he  is 
enabled  to  avoid  what  is  prejudicial  to  health,  and  to 
enjoy  what  is  salutary  and  agreeable  to  the  constitu- 
tion, gives  up  to  an  element,  to  inanimate  matter, 
that  invaluable  blessing  to  be  trifled  with,  which,  if 
so  extended  to  man,  would  be  counted  nothing  less 
than  madness  and  impiety. 

The  pleasures  of  the  palate,  of  a  morning  nap,  of 
indolence,  and  of  fashionable  dress,  have  that  asccn- 


ivi373iGl 


dancy  over  the  reasoning  faculty  of  the  mind  that 
they  require  our  utmost  circumspection.  And  the 
compiler  of  these  pages  flatters  himself,  that  if  they 
are  properly  studied,  and  constantly  held  in  view, 
they  will  be  productive  of  those  beneficial  effects, 
which  seldom,  if  ever,  are  duly  estimated,  but  when 
their  respective  causes  have  ceased  to  operate. 


or  AIR,  OR  ATMOSPHERE, 


Air  is  that  invisible,  transparent,  compressible, 
and  elastic  fluid,  which  every  where  surrounds  our 
o-lobe  ;  and  which  generally  receives  the  name  of 
atmosphere.  It  is  the  medium  in  which  we  breathe, 
and  without  which  we  cannot  exist.  It  is  now  very 
generally  understood  that  the  atmospheric  air,  or 
that  by  which  we  are  usually  surrounded,  is  not  a 
simple,  but  a  compound  body,  consisting  of  at  least 
four  distinct  substances,  viz.  oxygen^  azote,  car- 
honk  acid,  and  aqueous  vapour. 

The  two  former  substances,  however,  constitute 
almost  the  whole  of  the  atmospheric  air  near  the 
surface  of  the  earth  ;  the  other  two  are  variable  in 
their  proportion,  and  exist  only  in  minute  quantities^ 
which  it  is  difficult  to  appreciate.  There  are  va- 
rious wp.ys  known  to  chemists,  by  which  these  two 
airs  may  be  separated  from  each  other.  Vhal  air, 
or  oxygen,  which  constitutes  about  one  fourth  of 
the  atmosphere,  is  necessary  to  respiration  and  com- 
inistion,  and  an  animal  immersed  in  it  will  lire 
A" 


much  longer  than  in  the  same  quantity  of  common 
air.  The  remaining  three  fourths,  called  azote,  or 
mephitic  air,  is  totally  incapable  of  supporting  res* 
piration  or  combustion  for  an  instant. 

If  a  candle  be  included  in  a  given  quantity  of 
atmospheric  air,  it  will  burn  only  for  a  certain  time, 
and  then  be  extinguished,  as  the  oxygen  is  all  ab- 
sorbed, and  the  azote  which  remains  is  incapable 
of  supporting  flame.  If  an  animal  be  put  in  a  given 
quantity  of  common  air,  it  will  live  only  a  certain 
lime,  at  the  end  of  w^hich,  the  air  will  be  found  di- 
minished about  one  fourth,  and  the  remainder  will 
neither  support  flame  nor  life.  Were  the  atmos- 
phere to  contain  a  much  larger  proportion  of  oxy- 
gen, by  its  powerful  influence  on  the  system, 
inflammatory  diseases  would  be  induced,  and  the 
excitabihty  be  sooner  exhausted.  If,  on  the  other 
hand,  a  much  less  proportion  of  oxygen  should  pre- 
vail in  the  atmosphere,  there  would  be  a  deficiency 
of  stimulus,  and  the  excitabihty  of  our  system 
would  morbidly  accumulate,  and  diseases  of  debility 
would  be  the  consequence. 

The  oxygen  wdiich  is  received  into  the  lungs  of 
animals,  is  supposed  to  communicate  the  red  colour 
to  their  blood,  and  to  impart  heat  and  activity  to 
the  system.  When  animals  die  for  want  of  vital 
air,  their  blood  is  always  found  black.  There  is  a 
constant  consumption  of  the  oxygenous  portion  of 
atmospheric    air,    by    the    burning   of   combustible 


bodies ;  by  the  fermentation  and  putreiaction  ol 
vegetable  substances ;  and  by  the  calcination  of 
metals. 

A  greater  or  less  proportion,  therefore,  of  the 
noxious  ingredient  azote  in  our  atmosphere,  un- 
doubtedly arises  from  the  innumerable  processes  of 
combustion,  putrefaction,  and  respiration  of  men  and 
animals,  particularly  in  populous  cities,  the  atmos- 
phere of  which  is  almost  constantly  prejudicial  to 
heahh.  The  atmospheric  air  is  never  absolutely 
pure  and  salubrious  in  any  situation,  but  always 
mixed  with  heterogeneous  particles,  and  the  different 
states  and  changes  produce  very  perceptible  effects 
on  the  constitution. 

Warm  air,  if  long  continued,  relaxes  the  solid 
parts  of  the  body,  quickens  the  circulation  of  the 
fluids,  dissipates  the  watery  part  of  the  blood,  ren- 
ders the  bile  acrimonious,  and  produces  disorders 
in  the  bowels,  and  fevers  of  a  malignant  kind.  "  A 
moist  air  is  universally  the  most  productive  of  dis- 
eases ;  but  when  heat  and  moisture  are  combined, 
it  is  of  all  conditions  of  the  air,  the  most  destructive 
to  the  constitution,  by  impairing  the  elasticity  of  the 
solids,  obstructing  perspiration,  and  disposing  to  pu- 
trefactive diseases.  A  cold  state  of  the  air,  if  not 
excessive  and  long  continued,  is  favourable  to  bodily 
vigour,  csi)ecially  in  those  who  are  accustomed  to 
take  active  exercise  ;  but  extreme  cold  air,  by  ( on- 
stringing  the  solids,   aiul   condensing  the    lluids,   di- 


8 

iiiinishes  perspiration,  and  often  occasions  rheuma- 
tisms, catarrhs,  and  other  affections  of  the  lungs. 
The  conjunction  of  dry  and  cold  air,  is  attended 
with  salubrious  effects,  but  a  pure  dry  air,  mode- 
rately warm,  is  of  ail,  the,  most  agreeable  and  salu- 
tary. All  great  and  sudden  changes  from  a  warm 
to  cold  air,  and  the  reverse  produce  in  general  a 
variety  of  complaints,  and  frequently  diseases  of  a 
fatal  tendency.  The  surest  mark  of  a  salubrious 
and  good  air  in  any  place,  is  the  longevity  of  the 
inhabitants. 

Winds,  or  currents  of  agitated  air,  likewise  pro- 
duce very  sensible  effects  on  the  human  constitution. 
A  wind  steadily  from  the  north,  purifies  the  atmos- 
phere of  noxious  vapours,  renders  the  air  serene 
and  dry,  by  which  the  system  is  invigorated,  and 
rendered  active,  though  to  persons  of  delicate  habits 
it  may  prove  severe  and  injurious. 

An  easterly  wind  is  cold  without  bracing,  and  in 
our  climate,  is  incomparably  the  most  of  all  others 
uncomfortable,  and  the  most  prejudicial  to  health, 
especially  to  valetudinarians.  To  the  asthmatic, 
and  such  as  are  disposed  to  intermittent  fevers,  it  is 
particularly  injurious.  It  has  been  observed  that  a 
long  continued  easterly  v;ind,  renders  people  who 
are  naturally  of  a  mild  and  placid  temper,  irritable 
and  morose  ;  and  that  instances  of  suicide  are  more 
frequent  in  those  countries  and  seasons,  where  east- 
erly  winds   are    generally   prevalent.       The  south 


wind  is  frequently  accompanied  with  a  latent  hu- 
midity, which  relaxes  the  body,  and  disposes  to  af- 
fections of  the  head  and  breast. 

The  atmospheric  air  as  already  observed,  is  in- 
cessantly corrupted   by  the  respiration  of  men  and 
animals,   and  by  dissolution   and   putrefaction  of  in- 
numerable substances.     In  populous  cities,  the  air 
is  constantly  contaminated  with  sulphur,  smoke,  and 
a  variety  of  other  exhalations  of  a  deleterious  ten- 
dency, and  from  which  asthmatic   and  consumptive 
persons,  and  likewise  those  of  weak  nerves,  experi- 
ence the   most  prejudicial  effect.      It  is   therefore 
apparent  that  persons  of  this  description  ought,  as 
much  as  possible,  to  avoid  the  corrupt  air  of  large 
towns,  or  at  least  to  change  the  air,  by  frequently 
visiting  other  situations.     In  the  open  country  there 
are  few  causes  to  contaminate  the  atmosphere,  and 
the  vegetable  prorJuctions  are  continually  tending  to 
make  it  more  pure.     The  winds  which   agitate  the 
atmosphere,   and  constantly  occasion   its   change  of 
place,  waft   the  pure  country  air  to  the  inhabitants 
of  the  cities,  and  dissipate  that  from  which  the  oxy- 
gen  has  been  in  a  great  measure  extracted.     Were 
it  not  for  this  wise  provision  of  the  author  of  nature, 
from   the  daily   combustion  of  an   immense  quantity 
of  fuel,  the  numerous  substances  constantly  under- 
going  putrefaction,  and    the  exiialalions   of  a  large 
number   of  men   and  luii-nals,   the    air    in    populous 
towns  must  soon   become  unfit  for  th«  purposes  of 


JO 

life.  The  numerous  chimney-fires  in  cities  serve 
also  an  excellent  purpose,  by  rarefying  the  atmos- 
phere, and  thereby  obviating  the  mischief  which 
otherwise  might  ensue. 

The  aif  of  any  place  where  a  numerous  body  of 
people  is  assembled  together,  especially  if  to  the 
breath  of  the  crowd,  there  be  added  the  vapour  of 
a  great  number  of  candles  or  lamps,  is  rendered 
extremely  prejudicial,  as  it  occasions  a  great  con- 
sumption of  oxygen. 

The  practice  of  burning  lamps  with  long  wicks, 
and  thereby  filling  the  room  with  smoke,  is  very 
detrimental  to  health ;  and  it  is  not  a  little  sur- 
prising that  common  sense  is  so  devoid  of  all  phi- 
losophy, as  not  to  detect  and  avoid  a  vapour  so 
pernicious  and  poisonous  to  be  received  into  the 
lungs. 

The  fact  is  well  known,  that  when  air  has  been 
long  confined  and  stagnated  in  mines,  wells,  and 
cellars,  it  becomes  so  extremely  poisonous  as  to 
prove  immediately  fatal  to  those  who  imprudently 
attempt  to  enter  such  places.  No  person  should 
descend  into  a  well  or  cellar,  which  has  been  long 
closed,  without  first  letting  down  a  lighted  candle  ; 
if  it  burns  clear  there  is  no  danger,  but  if  it  cease 
to  burn,  we  may  be  sure  that  no  one  can  enter 
without  the  utmost  danger  of  immediate  suffocation. 
It  sometimes  happens  also,  that  when  air  is  suffered 
to  stagnate  in  hospitals,  jails,  ships,  &:c.  it  partakes 


11 

of  the  same  unwholesome  pernicious  nature,  and  is 
a  source  of  disease.  It  is  obvious,  therefore,  that 
in  all  confined  or  crowded  places,  the  correcting  of 
vitiated  air,  by  means  of  cleanliness  and  frequent 
ventilation,  is  of  the  highest  importance.  The  most 
effectual  preservative  from  foul  air,  and  consequently 
from  putrid  diseases,  is  a  rigid  observance  of  the 
means  of  cleanliness  in  every  particular  ;  no  accu- 
mulation of  filth  about  houses,  cloths,  or  in  the  pub- 
lic streets,  should  on  any  pretence  be  suffered  to 
continue,  especially  during  the  heat  of  summer. 

The  air  is  often  rendered  impure  by  hot  fires  or 
stoves  in  small  rooms  not  sufficiently  ventilated  ; 
this  is  pecuharly  prejudicial  to  those  who  are  sub- 
ject to  pulmonic  complaints,  and  it  ought  to  be  cau- 
tiously guarded  against. 

The  warm  rooms  which  are  usually  an  appendage 
to  the  luxury  of  the  capitals,  and  thin  clothing 
abroad,  lay  the  foundation  for  many  of  those  com- 
plaints, which  are  the  precursors  of  consumption. 
It  is  thus  that  catarrh  usually  originates  in  this 
country  ;  and  this  always  debilitates  the  lungs,  and 
often  terminates  in  a  consumption. 

It  is  a  very  injurious  custom  for  several  persons 
to  sleep  in  a  small  apartment,  and  if  it  be  very 
close,  and  a  fire  be  kept  in  it,  the  danger  is  in- 
creased ;  and  from  this  cause  persons  have  some- 
limes  been  stifled  in  the  night  when  asleep.  It  is 
deemed  unsafe  to  leave  the  windows  of  a  bedroom 


12 

©pen  at  night  during  the  summer  months,  as  per- 
spiration might  be  checked  by  the  cool  night  air, 
while  the  pores  are  relaxed  by  the  heat  of  the  day, 
and  the  warmth  of  the  bed.*  The  vapour  of  char- 
coaL,  when  burnt  in  a  close  apartment,  produces  the 
most  dangerous  effects.  Our  houses,  which  are 
made  close  and  almost  air-tight,  should  be  venti- 
lated daily,  by  admitting  a  free  circulation  of  air  to 
pass  through  opposite  windows ;  and  even  our  beds 
ought  to  be  frequently  exposed  to  the  influence  of 
the  open  air. 

Houses  situated  in  low  marshy  countries,  or  near 
lakes  or  ponds  of  stagnant  water,  are  constantly  ex- 
posed to  the  influence  of  putrid  vapours  which  ex- 
hale from  such  noxious  sources.  To  obviate  this  evil 
fires  should  be  made,  during  a  sickly  season,  be- 
tween the  house  and  the  place  from  which  the 
putrid  exhalations  arise. 

Among  the  most  powerful  means  furnished  by 
nature  of  correcting  air  which  has  become  unfit  for 
respiration,  is  the  growth  and  vegetation  of  plants. 
The  generality  of  plants  possess  the  property  of 
correcting  the  most  corrupt  air  within  a  few  hours, 
when  they  are  exposed  to  the  light  of  the  sun, 
during   the   night   or  in  the   shade,  however,   they 


*  This  practice  is  not  'dangerous,  provided  it  is  followed  with 
proper  core.  There  shoultl  be  ventilations  in  the  sleeping  room, 
sufficient  to  allow  a  proper  circulation  of  air,  but  not  so  as  to 
have  the  night  air  blow  directly  on  tlie  bed. 


13 

destroy  the  purity  of  the  air,  which  renders  it  a 
dangerous  practice  to  allow  plants  to  vegetate  in 
apartments  occupied  by  sleeping. 

It  was  a  custom  with  Dr.  Frankhn  to  hathe  in  air, 
as  he  termed  it.  "  1  rise  almost  every  morning," 
says  he,  "  and  sit  in  my  chamber  without  any  clothes 
whatever,  half  an  hour,  or  an  hour,  according  to  the 
season,  either  reading  or  writing.  This  practice  is 
not  in  the  least  painful,  but  on  the  contrary,  agree- 
able ;  and  if  I  return  to  bed  afterwards,  before  I 
dress  myself,  as  sometimes  happens,  I  make  a  sup- 
plement to  my  night's  rest  of  one  or  two  hours  of 
the  most  pleasing  sleep  that  can  be  imagined.  I 
find  no  ill  consequences  whatever  resulting  from  it, 
and  that  at  least  it  does  not  injure  my  health,  if  it 
does  not  in  fact  contribute  much  to  its  preserva- 
tion." 

In  another  place  he  writes,  "  A  single  person  is 
said  to  spoil  only  a  gallon  of  air  per  minute,  and 
therefore  requires  a  longer  time  to  spoil  a  chamber- 
full  ;  but  il  is  done,  however,  in  proportion,  and 
many  putrid  disorders  hence  have  their  origin.  It 
is  recorded  of  Methuselah,  who,  being  the  longest 
liver,  may  be  supposed  to  have  best  preserved  his 
health,  that  he  slept  always  in  the  open  air ;  for, 
when  he  had  lived  five  hundred  years,  an  angel  said 
to  him  ;  '  Arise  Methuselah,  and  build  thee  a  house, 
for  thou  shalt  hve  yet  five  hundred  years  longer.' 
But  Methuselah  answered  and  said,  '  If  I  am  to  livp 
2 


14 

but  five  lumdred  years  longer,  it  is  not  worth  while 
to  build  me  an  house — I  will  sleep  in  the  air  as  I 
have  been  used  to  do.' 

Confined  air,  when  saturated  with  perspirable 
matter,^  will  not  receive  more  ;  and  that  matter 
must  remain  in  our  bodies,  and  occasion  diseases  : 
but  it  gives  some  previous  notice  of  its  being  about 
to  be  hurtful,  by  producing  certain  uneasinesses, 
slight  indeed  at  first,  such  as,  with  regard  to  the 
lungs,  is  a  trifling  sensation,  and  to  the  pores  of  the 
skin,  a  kind  of  restlessness,  which  is  difficult  to  de- 
scribe, and  few  that  feel  it  know  the  cause  of  h. 
But  we  may  recollect,  that  sometimesj  on  waking  in 
the  night,  we  have,  if  warmly  covered,  found  it  dif- 
ficult to  get  asleep  again.  We  turn  often  without 
finding  any  repose  in  any  position.  This  fidgetti- 
riess,  to  use  a  vulgar  exgression  for  want  of  a  better, 
is  occasioned  wholly  by  an  uneasiness  in  the  skin, 
owing  to  the  retention  of  the  perspirable  matter — the 
bed  clothes  having  received  their  quantity,  and  being 
saturated,  refusing  to  take  any  more.  To  become 
sensible  of  this  by  an  experiment,  let  a  person  keep 
his  position  in  the  bed,  but  throw  off  the  bed  clothes, 
and  suffer  fresh  air  to  approach  the  part  uncovered 
of  his  body  ;  he  will  then   feel   that  part  suddenly 


*  What  physicians  call  the  perspirable  matter,  is  thai  vapour 
Avhich  passes  off  from  our  bodies,  from  the  lungs,  and  through  the 
pores  of  the  skin.  The  quantity  of  this  is  said  to  be  five  eighths  of 
what  v.-e  eat. 


15 

refreshed  ;  for  the  air  will  immediately  relieve  the 
skin,  by  receiving  and  carrying  off  the  load  of  per- 
spirable matter  that  incommoded  it.  For  every 
portion  of  cool  air  that  approaches  the  warm  skin,  in 
receiving  its  part  of  that  vapour,  receives  therewith 
a  degree  of  heat,  that  rarefies  and  renders  it  hghter, 
when  it  will  be  pushed  away  with  its  burden,  by 
cooler  and  therefore  heavier  fresh  air  ;  which,  for  a 
moment  supplies  its  place,  and  then,  being  likewise 
changed  and  warmed,  gives  way  to  a  succeeding 
quantity. 

This  is  the  order  of  nature,  to  prevent  animals  be- 
ing infected  by  their  own  perspiration.  He  will  now 
be  sensible  of  the  difference  between  the  part  ex- 
posed to  the  air,  and  that  which,  remaining  sunk  in 
the  bed,  denies  the  air  access  :  for  this  part  now 
manifests  its  uneasiness  more  distinctly  by  the  com- 
parison, and  the  seat  of  the  uneasiness  is  more  plain- 
ly perceived,  than  when  the  whole  surface  of  the 
body  was  affected  by  it. 

It  is  an  erroneous  idea,  that  people  should  cool 
themselves  before  going  from  a  warm  room  into  the 
open  air  ;  they  should  on  the  contrary  accumulate 
a  large  portion  of  heat,  and  then  secure  their  bodies 
by  warm  clothing,  and  the  use  of  active  exercise, 
and  being  thus  prepared  they  may  pass  through  the 
most  intense  cold  with  perfect  impunity.  But  after 
being  exposed  to  the  cold  air  till  the  natural  warmth 
begins    to    decline,    they   can    never    return   into    a 


16 

warm  room  or  near  a  fire,  without  a  risk  of  danger- 
ous consequences.  Let  it  therefore  be  constantly 
observed  as  a  rule,  that  when  the  body  or  limbs 
are  affected  with  intense  cold,  the  only  safe  method 
is  to  produce  the  natural  feeling  and  warmth  by 
means  of  gradual  heat. 

The  fact  seems  to  be  fully  estabhshed  that  in 
proportion  to  the  increased  degree  of  heat  of  the 
body,  is  the  safety  wuh  which  cold  may  be  applied ; 
provided  it  be  applied  freely  and  before  the  heat 
begins  to  decline.  Of  this  we  have  a  sufficient 
proof  in  the  practice  among  the  Russian  inhabitants, 
who  first  bathe  in  water  heated  to  as  high  a  degree 
as  the  body  can  bear,  and  immediately  after  cool 
themselves  in  snow,  and  this  with  perfect  impunity. 

It  is  a  dangerous  practice  for  persons  when  re- 
turning from  an  excessive  cold  atmosphere,  to  ap- 
proach a  fire,  without  first  waiting  for  the  accumu- 
lated excitability  to  be  gradually  and  moderately 
exhausted  by  the  gentle  action  of  heat  ;  and  to 
drink  warm  or  strong  liquors  while  the  body  is  thus 
chilled  with  cold  is  still  more  hazardous.* 

When  persons  have  their  hands  or  feet  exposed 
to  intense  cold,  by  which  the  excitability  of  those 
parts  are  accumulated,  they  will  obtain  the  most 
effectual  relief  by  putting  them  into  cold  water,  or 

*"The  mistaken  idea  of  the  necessity  of  "taking  something 
warm  to  keep  the  cold  out,"  occasions  more  cold,  perhaps,  than 
all  the  other  exciting  causes  of  the  complaint  united." 


17 

by  rubbing  tliem  with  snow  until  the  morbid  ex- 
citabihty  be  gradually  exhausted.  Few  of  the  re- 
finements of  modern  luxury  and  fashion,  are  more 
prejudicial  to  health  by  rendering  the  body  suscep- 
tible of  cold,  than  the  living  in  single  close  rooms 
heated  to  excess  by  fires  or  stoves.  Another  prac- 
tice no  less  injurious,  is  to  sleep  in  heated  apart- 
ments upon  soft  beds  artificially  warmed,  and  under 
a  load  of  bed  clothes.  It  is  far  more  salutary  for 
the  strong  and  healthy,  to  go  into  a  cold  bed,  re- 
garding it  as  a  necessary  rule  however  to  acquire  a 
moderate  degree  of  warmth  immediately  previous 
to  retiring  to  rest,  for  if  we  get  into  bed  cold  and 
chilly  we  shall  remain  so  the  greater  part  of  the 
night. 

From  the  foregoing  view  of  the  subject,  it  is  ob- 
vious that  nothing  contributes  to  enervate  the  pow- 
er of  the  human  frame,  as  an  excess  of  external 
heat,  which  debilitates  by  its  perpetual  stimulus, 
until  the  system  becomes  extremely  sensible  to  the 
slightest  variation  of  temperature  of  the  air. 

It  is  of  primary  importance  therefore,  that  young 
persons  be  gradually  habituated  to  bear  the  impres- 
sion of  cold,  and  induce  that  enviable  state  of  har- 
diness, that  will  enable  them  to  brave  with  impu- 
nity the  vicissitudes  of  the  atmosphere  of  our  cli- 
mate. 

And  in  order  to  obviate  the  most  frequent  cousins 
2^ 


18 

©f  catarrh,  which  is  so  prevalent  among  us,  we 
should  accommodate  our  dress  to  the  season  and 
personal  feeling  ;  when  changes  from  cold  to  heat 
or  the  contrary,  are  unavoidable,  carefully  guard 
against  the  transition  being  sudden   and  immediate. 


19 


OF  ursExrszBi:.!:  ferspiratzoit. 


Among  the  natural  evacuations  on  which  the  hfe 
and  heahh  of  man  so  essentially  depends,  none  is  so 
important  and  extensive  as  that  of  insensihle  per- 
spiration. According  to  the  calculation  of  some, 
a  person  of  a  middle  stature,  and  in  perfect  health, 
perspires  from  three  to  four,  or  five  pounds  weight 
during  the  twenty-four  hours.  It  exceeds  in  quan- 
tity all  the  other  evacuations,  and  of  course  every 
suppression  of  it  must  inevitably  occasion  a  serious 
interruption  to  health.  This  discharge  from  the 
system,  varies  in  different  seasons,  climates  and 
constitutions,  and  is  much  influenced  by  the  casual 
diversities  in  exercise,  food,  and  exposure  to  heat 
or  cold.  It  is,  however,  in  general,  more  copious 
and  uniform  during  the  night,  on  account  of  the 
warmth  of  the  bed  and  uniformity  of  the  surround- 
ing atmosphere. 

Insensible  perspiration  is  weaker  after  a  plentiful 
meal,  which  accounts  for  the  chilliness  often  felt 
on  that  occasion.  But  as  soon  as  the  food  is  di- 
gested, this  discharge  returns  with  increased  energy. 
The  chyle,  now  changed  into  blood,   imparts  addi- 


20 

tional  force  to  ilie  vital  powers,  as  well  as  to  the 
circLilation  of  the  blood  itself.  The  process  of  per- 
spiration is  supposed  to  be  most  forcibly  aftected, 
and  sometimes  totally  suppressed  by  the  following 
circumstances  :  1.  By  violent  pain,  which  in  a  re- 
markable degree  consumes  the  fluids  of  the  body, 
or  propels  them  to  other  parts.  2.  By  obstruc- 
tions of  the  vessels  of  the  skin,  which  are  fre- 
quently occasioned  by  the  use  of  salves,  ointments, 
and  cosmetics.  3.  By  severe  colds,  especially 
those  contracted  at  night,  and  during  sleep.  4. 
When  nature  is  either  weak,  or  endeavours  to  pro- 
mote any  other  species  of  evacuation  ;  or,  as  was 
before  observed,  during  the  time  of  concoction, 
particularly  after  using  food  that  is  difiicult  to  be 
digested.  Perspiration,  on  the  contrary,  is  pro- 
moted by  moderate  exercise,  the  warm  bath,  and 
mild  sudorific  medicines  ;  to  which  may  be  added 
friction,  cleanliness,  and  the  exhilarating  passions, 
hope  and  joy. 

When  perspiration  is  too  profuse,  indicating  a 
weakness  of  the  body  and  laxity  of  the  vessels  of 
the  skin,  it  is  best  removed  by  cold  bathing. 

The  variable  state  of  the  atmosphere,  and  the 
mutability  of  the  weather  are  among  the  most  fre- 
quent causes  of  obstructed  perspiration  ;  to  coun- 
teract the  influence  of  which,  and  fortify  the  body 
against  them,  nothing  is  so  efficacious  as  being 
abroad  whenever  health  will  permit  ;  for  those  wlio 


seclude  themselves  from  the  open  air  become  ex- 
tremely susceptible  of  its  influence  on  every  ex- 
posure. 

The  evening  air,  especially  when  accompanied 
with  dews,  which  fall  most  plentifully  after  the 
hottest  day  in  summer,  is  a  very  frequent  cause  of 
obstructed  perspiration  ;  this  will  suggest  the  pru- 
dent caution  of  avoiding  as  much  as  possible  ex- 
posure to  them.  Those  who  inhabit  marshy  coun- 
tries where  exhalations,  fogs  and  dews  are  more 
copious,  are  often  seized  with  dangerous  diseases, 
from  an  imprudent  neglect  of  this  caution. 

Another  cause  by  which  perspiration  is  liable  to 
be  greatly  obstructed  is  wet  clothes  ;  fevers,  rheu- 
matisms, and  a  multiplicity  of  diseases  often  origi- 
nate from  this  source.  Persons  therefore  imme- 
diately after  getting  wet  should  change  their  clothes, 
or  keep  constantly  in  motion  till  they  become  dry, 
but  to  sit  or  lie  down  in  the  fields  with  wet  clothes, 
is  an  act  of  imprudence  liable  to  produce  the  most 
fatal  effects. 

Perspiration  is  very  frequently  obstructed  in  con- 
sequence of  wet  feet,  and  this  produces  colics,  in- 
flammation of  the  bowels  and  other  dangerous  af- 
fections ;  nothing  sooner  induces  a  fit  of  the  gout  in 
people  subject  to  that  complaint.  It  is  therefore 
of  great  importance  that  the  feet  be  well  guarded 
by  thick  shoes  against  wet  grounds  and  morning 
dews. 


22 

Damp  houses,  and  rooms  rendered  so  by  being 
newly  plastered  or  painted  are  extremely  unwhole- 
some, and  a  frequent  source  of  consumptions  and 
other  diseases.  The  noxious  smell  of  the  materials 
used  in  painting  is  well  known  to  occasion  pernici- 
ous effects. 

It  has  long  been  a  received  opinion  that  damp 
beds  are  a  fruitful  source  of  diseases,  such  as  fevers, 
rheumatisms,  consumptions,  he.  Although  Dr. 
Heberden,  an  eminent  physician,  maintains  the  op- 
posite opinion,  the  respectable  authority  and  univer- 
sal belief  relative  to  the  danger  resulting  from  damp 
sheets,  must  deter  all  who'  have  a  regard  for  health 
from  submitting  to  make  a  personal  experiment  on 
the  subject. 

It  is  well  understood  that  all  sudden  transitions 
from  heat  to  cold  have  a  remarkable  effect  in  sup- 
pressing perspiration.  Those  who  confine  them- 
selves in  a  warm  room,  and  drink  hot  hquors  till 
the  pores  become  open,  and  immediately  go  into 
the  cold  air,  may  expect  to  suffer  the  severest  con- 
sequences ;  by  such  imprudent  conduct  thousands 
have  forfeited  their  lives.  The  same  disagreeable 
effects  are  apt  to  ensue,  when  people  while  in  a 
hot  room  place  themselves  near  an  open  window  ; 
for,  the  current  of  air  being  thus  directed  against 
one  particular  part  of  the  body,  it  is  scarcely  pos- 
sible to  escape  catching  cold  in  such  a  situation  : 


23 

nor  is  it  much  less  hazardous  to  sleep  with  open 
windows  near  the  hed,  even  in  the  hottest  season. 

It  is  likewise  proper  to  caution  people  against 
the  practice  of  drinking  cold  water,  or  other  cold 
liquors,  when  the  blood  is  hot  and  perspiration  free. 
Numerous  instances  have  occurred  of  pei  sons  hav- 
ing expired  before  leaving  the  pump  from  which 
they  had  taken  the  fatal  draught.  But  the  more 
favourable  consequences  resulting  from  this  prac- 
tice are  hoarseness,  quinseys,  and  various  febrile 
affections.  When  therefore,  a  man  is  afflicted 
with  extreme  thirst  while  hot,  he  ought  not  to  drink 
a  large  quantity  at  once,  but  first  rinse  his  mouth, 
which  if  frequently  repeated  has  a  powerful  effect 
in  abating  thirst.  If  a  spoonful  of  brandy  or  other 
spirits  where  it  can  be  procured  be  taken  into  the 
mouth,  or  a  bit  of  bread  be  eaten  with  a  few  moutli- 
fuls  of  water,  much  less  danger  is  to  be  appre- 
hended. But  if,  regardless  of  consequences,  a 
man  has  imprudently  when  hot,  drunk  freely  of 
cold  liquor,  his  safety  \v\i\  require  that  he  take  ac- 
tive exercise  till  the  liquor  be  thoroughly  warmed 
upon  his  stomach  ;  and  this  will  counteract  the 
hurtful  effects  of  the  chilliness  which  would  other- 
wise ensue. 

It  is  a  well  known  fact,  that  horses  have  fre- 
quently been  destroyed  in  consequence  of  drinking 
freely  of  cold  water  when  their  bodies  were  heated 
and  their  exercise  was  soon  after  discontinued. 


<24 


or  FOOD  AITD  DHZKK. 


It  may  with  much  propriety  be  observed  that  on 
the  quantity  and  quahty  of  the  food,  and  conse- 
quently the  nourishment  of  the  body,  both  heahh 
and  hfe  are  dependent.  Habitual  excess  in  eating, 
is  no  less  detrimental  to  the  constitution  than  an 
intemperate  use  of  spirituous  liquors,  and  perhaps 
the  number  of  victims  to  the  former,  is  not  much 
exceeded  by  those  of  the  latter  vice. 

With  respect  to  the  quantity  of  food  proper  for 
every  individual,  no  precise  rule  can  be  prescribed 
or  observed  ;  as  the  various  circumstances  of  age, 
sex,  strength,  size,  and  habit  are  to  be  consulted. 
There  is  however,  one  golden  rule  which  will  ap- 
ply to  every  person,  and  is  never  to  be  disregarded  ; 
it  is  to  keep  within  the  bounds  of  satiety,  and  cease 
eating  when  the  first  cravings  of  appetite  are  satis- 
fied. Such  as  transgress  this  rule,  and  indulge  in 
excess  and  gluttony,  lay  a  foundation  for  numerous 
diseases,  a  broken  constitution  and  premature  old 
age. 

The  quality  of  our  food  merits  very  particular 
consideration.     Vegetable  productions  may  be  ren- 


25 

dered  unwholesome  by  unfavourable  seasons,  which 
prevent  the  ripening  of  grain,  or  it  may  afterwards 
suffer  damage  by  the  weather,  or  be  spoiled  by  too 
long  keeping  ;  in  either  case,  such  food  is  rendered 
entirely  unfit  for  the  nourishment  of  the  body,  and 
is  often  productive  of  misery  and  even  the  mortality 
of  mankind. 

There  are  various  causes  also,  by  which  animal 
food  may  be  reduced  to  such  unsound  condition,  as 
to  be  incapable  of  affording  wholesome  nourishment. 
All  animal  substances  have  a  constant  tendency  to 
putrefaction,  and  this  disposition  to  corruption  is 
always  increased  by  the  blood  and  juices  being 
mixed  in  with  the  flesh.  Such  cattle  therefore,  as 
die  of  themselves  or  by  accident,  ought  never  to  be 
eaten.  The  flesh  of  cattle  fattened  in  the  stall  as 
they  are  excluded  from  fresh  air  and  exercise,  is 
destitute  of  the  fine  flavour  and  nourishing  qualities 
of  wholesome  meat.  Animals  designed  for  slaugh- 
ter are  often  rendered  unwholesome  by  being  over 
heated  in  travelling,  and  if  butchered  while  in  such 
a  state  of  fever,  the  blood  will  be  so  intimately 
mixed  in  with  the  meat,  that  it  cannot  be  separated  : 
consequently  it  will  be  rendered  unwholesome. 
There  is  a  vile  practice  among  some  butchers,  of 
filhng  the  cellular  membrane  with  air,  or  what  is 
called  hloivin^  meat,  to  give  it  the  appearance  of 
bein[;  hit.  This  abominable  cuslojn  not  only  ren- 
ders the  ment  unfit  for  keeping,  but  communicates 
3 


26 

to  it  a  taint  so  loathsome  and  disgusting,  as  to  shock 
every  person  who  reflects  but  a  moment  upon  the 
circumstance.  Who  can  know  but  the  offensive 
breath  thus  blown  into  the  meat  carries  with  it  the 
effluvia  of  diseased  lungs  ?  This  horrid  custom 
ought  to  receive  the  severest  animadversion  when- 
ever it  can  be  detected. 

Considerable  attention  is  due  to  the  kind  of  food 
in  particular  constitutions  and  circumstances.  It 
was  undoubtedly  intended  by  providence,  that  the 
subsistence  of  our  species  should  consist  of  both 
animal  and  vegetable  food  ;  and  a  mixture  of  the 
two,  where  neither  of  them  disagrees  with  the  con- 
stitution, may  be  deemed  the  most  proper.  Animal 
food  in  general  is  more  nourishing  than  vegetables  ; 
and  when  it  is  not  salted,  nor  hardened  by  smoking, 
is  likewise  more  easy  of  digestion.  On  this  account, 
it  generally  agrees  best  with  dehcate  and  weak  con- 
stitutions, and  such  whose  stomachs  are  much  hable 
to  acidity.  But  to  eat  of  several  kinds  of  meat  at 
a  meal,  is  certainly  injurious  to  health  ;  both  as  a 
variety  of  dishes  may  invite  to  excess,  and  as  a 
mixture  of  meats,  very  different  in  their  texture, 
must  interrupt  the  process  of  digestion,  and  the  for- 
mation of  proper  chyle  for  the  nourishment  of  the 
body.  It  is  more  conformable  to  nature  to  eat  of 
one  dish  only,  and  this  is  doubtless  the  means  of 
procuring  the  most  healthy  fluids. 

The     quality    of    meat    undergoes    considerable 


27 

change  by  the  particular  mode  of  cookery.  By 
boiling  meat,  it  is  deprived  of  much  of  its  nourish- 
ing juice  ;  the  broth  contains  the  most  gelatinous 
and  nourishing  part  of  it,  but  if  taken  in  this  form  it 
tends  to  relax  the  stomach,  and  thereby  retard  the 
process  of  digestion.  When  meat  is  prepared  by 
roasting  or  broiling,  it  retains  its  natural  juices,  and 
probably  yields  more  nourishment  than  the  same 
quantity  of  boiled  meat.  Stewing  in  a  close  vessel 
is  well  calculated  to  preserve  the  more  substantial 
parts  of  animal  food,  as  the  juices  are  neither  ex- 
tracted by  water,  noF  made  to  evaporate  by  the 
heat. 

The  luxurious  arts  of  cookery  contribute  in  no 
small  degree  to  the  mischievous  effects  which  we 
frequently  experience  from  our  food.  All  con- 
diments and  articles  of  high  seasoning  have  a  per- 
nicious tendency,  by  tempting  to  excess,  and  ex- 
citing the  digestive  powers  to  an  undue  action. 
Simplicity  in  food,  both  in  kind  and  preparation,  is 
most  conformable  to  the  dictates  of  nature,  and  the 
pampering  luxuries  of  modern  times  have  been  the 
bane  of  thousands.  The  true  and  natural  appetite 
alone  should  be  the  guide  of  every  individual.  The 
artificial  appetite,  or  that  excited  by  stimulating 
liquors  and  condiments,  ought  to  be  very  cautiously 
indulged  :  and  that  created  by  the  habit  of  taking 
food  at  certain  hours  cannot  afford  the  true  indica- 
tion that  nature  requires  a  supply,  and  is  not  there- 


28 

fore  to  be  satisfied  beyond  a  moderate  extent,  as- 
voraciousness  will  increase  with  indulgence  until 
actual  intemperance  become  established.  A  simple 
rule  which  every  person  ought  to  observe  is,  to  eat 
slow,  that  the  food  may  have  sufficient  time  to  be 
duly  masticated  or  chewed  in  the  mouth  ;  to  sw^al- 
k)w  food  too  quickly  and  before  it  is  perfectly 
ohew^ed,  is,  to  say  the  least  of  it,  very  improper  and 
sometimes  dangerous.  The  quantity  of  food  taken 
should  be  in  some  measure  regulated  by  the  dif- 
ferent seasons  ;  thus  in  summer  as  heat  in  general 
relaxes  the  body  and  dissipates  the  fluids,  the  sto- 
mach cannot  digest  the  same  quantity  of  food  as  in 
winter.  The  quantity  of  food  however,  in  all  sea- 
sons ought  to  be  proportioned  to  the  degree  of  per- 
sonal exercise  and  the  indications  of  a  healthy  ap- 
petite. A  deficiency  of  aliment  weakens  the  body, 
and  in  young  persons,  retards  their  growth,  and 
impairs  the  constitution  ;  while  intemperance  in 
fating  overpowers  and  injures  the  organs  of  diges- 
tion, crowds  the  vessels  with  gross  humours,  and 
disposes  to  corpulency  and  inflammatory  diseases. 
After  long  fasting,  and  a  person  has  suffered  much 
from  extreme  hunger,  the  excitabihty  of  the  stomach 
accumulates,  and  the  organ  is  rendered  extremely 
susceptible  of  its  accustomed  stimulus,  insomuch 
that  a  cup  of  broth  has  been  known  to  intoxicate 
equally  with  two  or  three  bottles  of  wine  in  com- 
mon   circumstances.     Hence   the    great   hazard    in 


29 

<yiving  to  such  persons  large  quantities  of  food  at 
once,  a  full  meal  would  undoubtedly  prove  fatal. 
The  only  safe  and  proper  method  in  such  case  is, 
to  administer  liquid  nourishment  in  small  quantities, 
and  conduct  as  with  a  patient  in  a  putrid  or  ner- 
vous fever,  abstaining  from  animal  food  of  every 
kind  until  the  stomach  be  gradually  restored  to  its 
natural  and  healthy  state.  There  is  likewise  con- 
siderable danger  in  sudden  changes  of  diet,  par- 
ticularly the  transition  from  a  rich  and  full,  to  one 
that  is  low  and  sparing.  When,  therefore,  a  change 
becomes  expedient,  it  ought  always  to  be  gradually 
introduced. 

With  respect  to  the  choice  of  element  as  adapted 
to  particular  constitutions,  those  who  abound  with 
blood,  and  such  as  are  disposed  to  become  fat, 
should  be  very  sparing  in  the  use  of  highly  nourish- 
ing food,  rich  wines,  and  malt  liquors,  and  carefully 
avoid  all  excess,  and  take  much  exercise.  Their 
diet  ought  to  consist  chiefly  of  the  vegetable  kind, 
and  their  drink  to  be  water,  cider,  or  small  beer. 
People  whose  solids  are  weak  and  relaxed,  should 
avoid  all  food  of  hard  digestion,  but  use  such  as  is 
of  a  nutritious  nature.  Persons  who  are  much  trou- 
bled with  an  aridity  of  the  stomach  should  make 
the  greater  part  of  their  diet  consist  of  animal  foocL 

Milk  is  an  article  of  food  which  cannot  be  too 
hiiihly  commended.  It  is  intermediate  between 
animal  and  vegetable  substances,  easy  of  digestion. 
3* 


30 

and  affording  a  mild  and  bland  nutriment  calculated 
to  obtund  the  acrimony  of  the  fluids  and  purify  the 
blood.  In  weak  and  consumptive  habits,  it  is  in- 
comparably the  most  eligible  of  all  nutritive  sub- 
stances, provided  it  does  not  disagree  with  the 
stomach. 

The  age,  constitution,  and  manner  of  hfe,  are 
circumstances  which  merit  attention  in  the  choice 
of  proper  diet  ;  and  sedentary  people  should  live 
more  sparingly  than  those  w^ho  are  accustomed  to 
much  bodily  labour.  The  diet  best  adapted  under 
circumstances  of  disease,  will  be  an  object  of  atten- 
tion when  treating  of  diseases  particularly. 

The  diet  should  not  only  be  such  as  is  best  adapt- 
ed to  the  particular  tendency  of  different  constitu- 
tions, but  it  ought  not  to  be  too  uniform,  at  least  for 
any  considerable  time.  When  the  stomach  ha^ 
been  long  habituated  to  the  most  delicate  and  ten- 
der kind  of  food,  it  becomes  incapable  of  digesting 
any  thing  stronger,  among  the  great  variety  which 
nature  has  provided  for  our  support.  Food  ought 
to  be  taken  at  regular  periods,  for  long  fasting  is 
injurious  in  every  stage  of  life  ;  it  vitiates  the  fluids, 
and  prevents  the  growth  of  the  body.  Nature  re- 
quires frequent  suppHes  of  fresh  nourishment  to 
obviate  a  constant  tendency  of  the  humours  to  be- 
come acrimonious.  Long  fasting  is  apt  also  to  oc- 
casion wind  in  the  stomach  and  bowels,  and  some- 


31 

times   even    giddiness   and    faintness,    especial]}-    in 
tliose  who  are  weak  and  delicate. 

The  practice  of  eating  heavy  suppers  juet  before 
going  to  rest,  is  exceedingly  pernicious,  as  the  di- 
gestive powers  are  in  a  degree  diminished  during 
sleep  ;  and  in  a  horizontal  posture  the  stomach 
presses  upon  a  part  of  the  intestines,  and  the  blood 
is  consequently  impelled  to  the  head  which  may 
prove  of  dangerous  tendency.  The  custom  ol  taking 
a  short  sleep  alter  dinner,  may  with  propriety  be 
allowed  to  the  aged  and  delicate  ;  the  indulgence 
however,  should  be  confined  to  a  repose  of  a  few- 
minutes  in  a  reclining  posture. 

We  come  now  to  notice  the  articles  of  drink, 
which  is  an  essential  part  of  our  aliment,  and  of 
indispensable  use  to  the  digestion  of  our  food. 
Among  the  great  variety  of  liquids,  water  is  the 
most  universally  employed,  and  when  perfectly 
pure  it  is  the  most  salutary  and  natural  beverage 
of  mankind.  Its  salubrity  depends  on  the  peculiar 
properties  which  it  possesses.  Some  waters  are 
strongly  impregnated  witli  animal,  vegetable,  or 
mineral  particles,  of  a  nature  injurious  to  the  con- 
stitution ;  and  such  impregnation  may  be  known  by 
the  sensible  qualities  of  the  water.  The  best  water 
is  that  which  is  pure,  light,  and  without  .any  parti- 
cular colour,  taste  or  smell.  Where  water  cannot 
be  obtained  pure  from  springs,  wells,  or  rivers,  care 
should  be  taken  to  deprive  it  of  its  })ernicious  quali- 


32 

ties,  by  boiling  and  filtering,  but  most  efTectually  hy 
distillation.     There    are   various    substances   which 
possess   the    property    of   correcting   putrid    water. 
Thus,  half  an  ounce  of  allum  in  powder  will  make 
twelve  gallons  of  corrupted  water  pure  and  trans- 
parent in  two   hours,   without  imparting  a   sensible 
degree   of  astringency.     The   powder   of  charcoal 
has  been  found   of  great   efficacy  in  checking  the 
putrid  tendency  of  water.     Various  expedients  have 
been  devised  to  preserve  water  in  a  state  of  purity 
on  long  voyages.     Four  ounces  of  fine  clear  pearl- 
ash,  have  proved  effectual  for  preserving  one  hun- 
dred gallons  of  water  perfectly  sweet  during  a  voy- 
age of  eighteen  months.     Charcoal  has  also  proved 
to  be  eminently   adapted   to   such  purpose.     With 
this  view  the  inner  surface  of  the  staves  should  be^ 
charred  previously  to  constructing  the  water  casks. 
Putrid  water  may  be  restored  to  iis  original   purity, 
by    adding   to    each    gallon    ten    grains   of  calcined 
allum,  and  twenty-five  or  thirty  of  powdered  char- 
coal ;  both  ingredients,  however,   after  being    pro- 
perly prepared,  should  be  preserved  in  close  ves- 
sels,  otherwise   their  efficacy  will  be    considerably 
diminished.      Another   method    of   restoring    putrid 
water  to  its  original  purity,  is  by  filtering  it  through 
sand  and  charcoal.     Whether   water  be  used  plain 
or  in  the  form  of  fermented  liquors,  it  is  of  great 
importance  that  it  be  of  the  purest  quality,  otherwise 
a  considerable  mass  of  impurities  may  be  conveyed 


33 

into  the  system  with  our  drinks.  Fermented  liquors, 
if  made  very  strong,  and  drunk  in  large  quantities, 
inflame  the  blood,  hurt  digestion,  and  dispose  to  a 
variety  of  diseases.  If  too  weak,  they  produce 
flatulences  ;  or  if  become  stale,  they  turn  sour  on 
the  stomach  and  injure  digestion.  Strong  beer  is 
very  nourishing,  and  may  be  employed  with  advan- 
tage as  a  medicine  in  emaciated  habits.  Beer 
made  of  a  great  proportion  of  hops,  and  a  small 
quantity  of  malt,  is  a  good  beverage,  and  well  cal- 
culated to  allay  thirst.  Cider,  when  of  a  proper 
age,  and  well  refined  and  pure,  may  be  considered 
as  a  pleasant  and  salutary  beverage,  and  calculated 
to  obviate  a  putrid  tendency  in  the  humours.  Wine, 
moderately  used,  increases  the  circulation  of  the 
blood,  promotes  the  secretions  and  excretions,  and 
invigorates  all  the  functions  of  the  body.  It  is 
however,  only  a  stimulant,  and  not  a  permanently 
strengthening  cordial  ;  for  most  wine  drinkers  who 
indulge  in  excess,  die  of  relaxation  and  debility. 
To  the  phlegmatic,  to  the  aged,  and  to  those  who 
are  disposed  to  flatulency,  wine  is  highly  beneficial 
if  used  with  prudence  and  moderation.  Plethoric 
young  men,  and  such  as  have  weak  stomachs  and 
lungs,  should  not  accustom  themselves  to  the  use  of 
wine.  It  is  believed  that  three  or  four  classes  of 
wine,  or  one  of  spirits  nuK  h  diluted  with  water, 
daily,  is  as  much  as  can  be  taken  by  most  men 
without  producing  more  or  less  injury  to  the  system. 


34 

No  person  in  the  opinion  of  Dr.  Trotter,  if  in  good 
health,  can  need  wine  till  he  be  forty.  He  may 
then  begin  with  two  glasses  a  day  ;  at  fifty  he  may 
add  two  more  ;  and  at  sixty  he  may  go  to  the 
length  of  six,  but  not  to  exceed  that  quantity, 
though  he  should  hve  to  an  hundred.  It  is  to  be 
remarked  that  we  speak  of  pure  wine  in  its  unadul- 
terated state  ;  those  once  of  genuine  quality  being 
too  often  shamefully  adulterated  with  poisonous  in- 
gredients, or  changed  in  their  nature  by  various 
mixtures. 

Ardent  spirits,  are  more  stimulating,  but  less  per- 
manent in  their  effects  than  even  wine  ;  instead  of 
promoting  digestion  of  food,  they  actually  tend  to 
retard  it,  and  render  strong  food  taken  into  the  sto- 
mach still  more  indigestible.  It  is  therefore  evident 
that  neither  wine,  nor  ardent  spirits,  are  proper  to 
be  employed  as  drinks  with  our  daily  food.  Vine- 
gar is  a  vegetable  production  possessing  salubrious 
qualities ;  it  is  an  excellent  antiseptic,  and  when 
diluted  with  water,  and  some  ginger  and  molasses 
added,  forms  a  wholesome  and  useful  drink  in  most 
constitutions,  in  warm  climates  and  seasons.  All 
other  vegetable  acids,  as  the  juice  of  oranges, 
lemons,  he.  possess  similar  properties,  and  are  both 
agreeable  and  tiseful.  Our  drink,  of  whatever  na- 
ture, ought  as  well  as  food,  to  be  taken  in  a  just  and 
moderate  quantity.  Were  we  to  be  governed  by 
the  dictates  of  nature,  we  ought  to  drink  only  when 


35 

solicited  by  thirst,  and  he  who  is  accustomed  to 
drink  water  only,  will  seldom  be  in  danger  of  trans- 
gressing the  proper  measure,  if  he  drinks  as  often  as 
the  calls  of  nature  demand. 

The  following  general  account  of  the  qualhies  of 
the  different  kinds  of  animal  and  vegetable  food  is 
taken  from  Thompson's  Family  Physician. 

^'Beef.  "When  this  is  the  flesh  of  a  bullock  of 
middle  age,  it  affords  good  and  strong  nourishment, 
and  is  peculiarly  well  adapted  to  those  who  labour 
or  take  much  exercise.  It  will  often  sit  easy  upon 
stomachs  that  can  digest  no  other  kind  of  food  ; 
and  its  fat  is  almost  as  easily  digested  as  that  of 
veal. 

*'  FeaZ  is  a  proper  food  for  persons  recovering 
from  an  indisposition,  and  may  even  be  given  to 
febrile  patients  in  a  very  weak  state,  but  it  affords 
less  nourishment  than  the  flesh  of  the  same  animal 
in  a  state  of  maturity.  The  fat  of  it  is  lighter  than 
that  of  any  other  animal,  and  shows  the  least  dis- 
position to  putrescency.  Veal  is  a  very  suitable 
food  in  costive  habits  ;  but  of  all  meat  it  is  the  least 
calculated  for  removing  an  acid  from  the  stomach. 

"  Mutton^  from  the  age  of  four  to  six  years,  and 
fed  on  dry  pasture,  is  an  excellent  meat.  It  is  of 
a  middle  kind  between  the  fn-mness  of  beef  and  the 
tenderness  of  veal.  The  lean  part  of  mutton,  howev- 
er, is  the  most  nourishing,  and  conducive  to  health  ; 
tlic  fat  being  hard  of  digestion.     The  head  of  the 


36 

sheep,  especially  when  divested  of  the  skin,  is  very 
tender  ;  and  the  feet  on  account  of  the  jelly  they 
contain,  highly  nutritive. 

"  Lamb  is  not  so  nourishing  as  mutton  ;  but  it  is 
light,  and  extremely   suitable  to  delicate  stomachs. 

^' House-Lamb f  though  much  esteemed  by  many, 
possesses  the  bad  qualities  common  to  the  flesh  of 
all  animals  reared  in  an  unnatural  way. 

"  Pork  affords  rich  and  substantial  nourishment  ; 
and  its  juices  are  wholesome  when  properly  fed, 
and  when  the  animal  enjoys  pure  air  and  exercise. 
But  the  flesh  of  hogs  reared  in  towns  is  both  hard 
of  digestion  and  unwholesome.  Pork  is  particularly 
improper  for  those  who  are  liable  to  any  foulness  of 
the  skin.  It  is  almost  proverbial,  that  a  dram  is 
good  for  promoting  its  digestion  ;  but  this  is  an 
erroneous  notion  :  for,  though  a  dram  may  give  a 
momentary  stimulus  to  the  coats  of  the  stomach,  it 
tends  to  harden  the  flesh,  and  of  course  to  make  it 
more  indigestible. 

"  Smoked-hams  are  a  strong  kind  of  meat,  and 
rather  fit  for  a  relish  than  for  diet.  It  is  the  quality 
of  all  salted  meat  that  the  fibres  become  rigid,  and 
therefore  more  difficult  of  digestion  ;  and  when  to 
this  is  added  smoking,  the  heat  of  the  chimney  oc- 
casions the  snk  to  concentrate,  and  the  fat  between 
the  muscles  to  become  rancid. 

"  Bacon  is  also  of  an  indigestible  quality,  and  is 
apt  to  turn  rancid  on  weak  stomachs. 


37 

*•  The  flesh  of  goats  is  hard  and  indigestible  ; 
but  that  of  kids  is  tender,  as  well  as  delicious,  and 
affords  good  nourishment. 

"  Venison,  or  the  flesh  o^  deer,  and  thatof  A«re5, 
is  of  a  nourishing  quality,  but  is  Hable  to  one  incon- 
venience ;  which  is,  that  though  much  disposed  to 
putrescency  of  itself,  it  must  be  kept  for  a  little  time 
before  it  becomes  tender. 

"The  blood  of  animals  is  used  as  aliment  by  the 
common  people  ;  but  they  could  not  long  subsist 
upon  it  unless  mixed  with  oatmeal,  &:c.  for  it  is  not 
soluble  alojie  by  the  digestive  powers  of  the  human 
stomach,  and  therefore  cannot  prove  nourishing. 

**  Milk  is  of  very  different  consistence  in  different 
animals  ;  but  that  of  cows  being  the  kind  used  in 
diet,  is  at  present  the  object  of  our  attention.  Milk,- 
where  it  agrees  with  the  stomach,  affords  "Excellent 
nourishment  for  those  who  are  weak,  and  cannot 
digest  other  aliments.  Though  an  animal  produc- 
tion, it  does  not  readily  become  putrid,  as  being 
possessed  of  the  properties  of  vegetable  aliment  ; 
but  it  is  apt  to  become  sour  on  the  stomach,  and 
thence  to  produce  flatulence,  the  heartburn,  or 
gripes,  anrl  in  some  constitutions,  a  looseness.  The 
best  milk  is  from  a  cow  at  three  or  four  years  of 
age,  about  two  months  after  producing  a  calf.  It  is 
lighter,  but  more  watery,  than  the  milk  of  sheep 
and  goats  ;   while  on  th(^  other  hand,  it  is  more  thick 


38 

and  heavy  than  the  milk  of  asses  and  mares,  which 
are  the  next  in  consistence  to  human  milk. 

"  On  account  of  the  acid  which  is  generated  after 
digestion,  milk  coagulates  in  all  stomachs  ;  but  the 
caseous  or  cheesy  part  is  again  dissolved  by  the 
digestive  juices,  and  rendered  fit  for  the  purpose  of 
nutrition.  It  is  however  improper  to  eat  acid  sub- 
stances with  milk,  as  these  would  tend  to  prevent 
the  due  digestion  of  it. 

"  Cream  is  very  nourishing,  but,  on  account  of  its 
fatness  is  difficult  to  be  digested  in  weak  stomachs. 
Violent  exercise,  after  eating  it,  will  in  a  httle  time 
convert  it  into  butter. 

"  Some  writers  inveigh  against  the  use  of  Butter 
as  universally  pernicious  ;  but  they  might  with  equal 
reason  condemn  all  vegetable  oils,  which  form  a 
considerable  part  of  diet  in  the  southern  climates, 
and  seem  to  have  been  beneficently  intended  by 
nature  for  that  purpose.  Butter,  like  every  oilier 
oily  substance,  has  doubtless  a  relaxing  quality,  and, 
if  long  retained  in  the  stomach,  is  Kable  to  become 
rancid  ;  but  if  eaten  in  moderation,  it  will  not  pro- 
duce those  effects  in  any  hurtful  degree.  It  is, 
however,  improper  in  bilious  constitutions.  The 
w^orst  consequence  produced  by  butter,  v/hen  eaten 
with  bread  is,  that  it  obstructs  the  discharge  of  the 
saliva  in  the  act  of  mastication  or  chewing  ;  by 
which  means  the  food  is  not  so  readily  digested. 
To  obviate  this  effect,  it  would  be  a  commendable 


39 

practice  at  breakfast,  first  to  eat  some  dry  bread, 
and  chew  it  well,  till  the  salivary  glands  were  ex- 
hausted, and  afterwards  to  eat  it  with  butter.  By 
these  means  such  a  quantity  of  saliva  might  be  car- 
ried into  the  stomach  as  would  be  sufficient  for  the 
purpose  of  digestion. 

"  Cheese  is  likewise  reprobated  by  many  as  ex- 
tremely unwholesome.  It  is  doubtless  not  easy  of 
digestion  ;  and  when  eaten  in  a  great  quantity,  may 
load  the  stomach  ;  but  if  taken  sparingly,  its  tena- 
city may  be  dissolved  by  the  digestive  juices,  and  it 
may  yield  a  wholesome,  though  not  very  nourishing 
chyle.  Toasted  cheese  is  agreeable  to  most  palates, 
but  is  rendered  more  indigestible  by  that  process. 
"  The  flesh  of  Birds  differs  in  quality  according 
to  the  food  on  which  they  hve.  Such  as  feed  upon 
grain  and  berries  afford,  in  general,  good  nourish- 
ment, if  we  except  geese  and  ducks,  which  are  hard 
of  digestion.  A  young  hen  or  chicken  is  tender  and 
delicate  food,  and  extremely  well  adapted  where 
the  dit!;eslive  powers  are  weak.  But  of  all  tame 
fowls,  the  capon  is  the  most  nutritious. 

"  Turkeys,  as  well  as  Guinea  or  India  fowls, 
afford  a  substantial  aliment,  but  are  not  so  easy  of 
digestion  as  the  common  domestic  fowls.  In  all 
birds  those  parts  are  the  most  firm  which  are  most 
exercised  :  in  the  small  birds,  therefore,  the  wings, 
and  in  the  larger  kinds  the  legs,  are  commonly  the 
most  difficult  of  digestion. 


49 

"  The  flesli  of  wild  birds,  in  general,  though  more 
easily  digested,  is  less  nourishing  than  that  of  qua- 
drupeds, as  being  more  dry,  on  account  of  their  al- 
most constant  exercise.  Those  birds  are  not  whole- 
some which  subsist  upon  worms,  insects,  and  fishes. 

"  Eggs.  In  the  last  class  of  terrestrial  animal 
food  we  may  rank  the  eggs  of  birds,  which  are  a 
simple  and  wholesome  aliment.  Those  of  the  Tur- 
key are  superior  in  all  the  qualifications  of  food. 
The  white  of  eggs  is  dissolved  in  a  warm  tempera- 
ture, but  by  much  heat  it  is  rendered  tough  and 
hard.  The  yolk  contains  much  oil,  and  is  highly 
nourishing,  but  has  a  strong  tendency  to  putrefac- 
tion ;  on  which  account  eggs  are  improper  for  peo- 
ple of  weak  stomachs,  especially  when  they  are  not 
quite  fresh.  Eggs  hard  boiled  or  fried  are  difficult 
of  digestion,  and  are  rendered  still  more  indigestible 
by  the  addition  of  butter.  All  eggs  require  a  suf- 
ficient quantity  of  salt,  to  promote  their  solution  m 
the  stomach. 

"  Fish,  though  some  of  them  be  light,  and  easy 
of  digestion,  afford  less  nourishment  than  vegetables 
or  the  flesh  of  quadrupeds,  and  are  of  the  animal 
tribes  the  most  disposed  to  putrefaction.  Salt  water 
fish  are,  in  general,  the  best ;  but  when  salted, 
though  less  disposed  to  putrescency,  they  become 
more  difficult  of  digestion.  Whitings  and  flounders 
are  the  most  easily  digested.  Acid  sauces  and 
pickles,  by  resisting  putrefaction,  are  a  proper  addi- 


41 

tion  to  fish,  both  as  they  retard  putrescency,  and 
correct  the  relaxing  tendency  of  butter,  so  gene- 
rally used  with  this  kind  of  aliment. 

'*  Oysters  are  eaten  both  raw  and  dressed  ;  but  in 
the  former  state  they  are  preferable  :  because  heat 
dissipates  considerably  their  nutritious  parts,  as  well 
as  the  salt  water,  which  promotes  their  digestion  in 
the  stomach  :  if  not  eaten  very  sparingly,  they  gen- 
erally prove  laxative. 

*'  Muscles  are  far  inferior  to  oysters,  both  in  point 
of  digestion  and  nutriment.  Sea  muscles  are  by 
some  supposed  to  be  of  a  poisonous  nature  ;  but 
though  this  opmion  is  not  much  countenanced  by 
experience,  the  safest  way  is  to  eat  them  with  vine- 
gar, or  some  other  vegetable  acid. 

*'  Bread.  At  the  head  of  the  vegetable  class 
stands  bread,  that  article  of  diet  which,  from  general 
use,  has  received  the  name  of  the  staff  of  life. 
Wheat  is  the  grain  chiefly  used  for  the  purpose  in 
this  country,  and  is  among  the  most  nutritive  of  all 
the  farinaceous  kinds,  as  it  contains  a  great  deal  of 
mucilage.  Bread  is  very  properly  eaten  with  ani- 
mal food  to  correct  the  disposition  to  putrescency  ; 
but  is  most  expedient  with  such  articles  in  diet  as 
contain  much  nourishment  in  a  small  bulk,  because 
it  then  serves  to  give  the  stomach  a  proper  degree 
of  expansion.  But  as  it  produces  a  slimy  chyle, 
and  disposes  to  costiveness,  it  ought  not  to  be  eaten 
ill  a  large  quantity.  To  render  bread  easy  of  diges- 
4* 


42 

tion,  it  ought  to  be  well  fermented  and  baked  ;  and 
it  never  should  be  used  till  it  has  stood  twenty-four 
hours  after  being  taken  out  of  the  oven,  otherwise 
it  is  apt  to  occasion  various  complaints  in  those  who 
have  weak  bowels  ;  such  as  flatulence,  the  heart- 
burn, watchfulness,  and  the  like.  The  custom  of 
eating  butter  with  bread  hot  from  the  oven  is  com- 
patible only  with  strong  digestive  powers. 

"  Pastry,  especially  when  hot,  has  all  the  advan- 
tages of  hot  bread  and  butter  ;  and  even  buttered 
toast,  though  the  bread  be  stale,  is  scarcely  inferior 
in  its  effects  on  a  weak  stomach.  Dry  toast  with 
butter  is  by  far  the  wholesomest  breakfast.  Brown 
wheaten  bread  in  which  there  is  a  good  deal  of  rye, 
though  not  so  nourishing  as  that  made  of  fine  flour, 
is  both  palatable  and  wholesome,  but  apt  to  become 
sour  on  weak  stomachs,  and  to  produce  all  the  ef- 
fects of  acidity. 

"  Oats,  when  deprived  of  the  husk,  and  particu- 
larly barley,  when  properly  prepared,  are  each  of 
them  softening,  and  aflbrd  wholesome  and  cooling 
nourishment.  Rice  hkewise  contains  a  nutritious 
mucilage,  and  is  less  used  in  this  country  than  it  de- 
serves, both  on  account  of  its  wholesomeness  and 
economical  utility.  The  notion  of  its  being  hurtful 
to  the  sight  is  a  vulgar  error.  In  some  constitu- 
tions it  tends  to  make  them  costive  ;  but  this  seems 
to  be  owing  chiefly  to  flatulence,  and  may  be  cor- 


43 

rected  by  the  addition  of  some  spice,  sucli  as  cara- 
way, anise  seed,  and  the  Hke. 

"  Potatoes  are  an  agreeable  and  wholesome  food, 
and  yield  as  much  nourishment  as  any  of  the  roots 
used  in  diet.  The  farinaceous  or  mealy  kind  is  in 
general  the  most  easy  of  digestion  ;  and  they  are 
much  improved  by  being  roasted. 

"  Green  pease,  and  Turkey  beans,  boiled  in  their 
fresh  state  are  both  agreeable  to  the  taste,  and 
wholesome  ;  being  neither  near  so  flatulent,  nor  dif- 
ficult of  digestion,  as  in  their  ripe  state  ;  in  which 
they  resemble  the  other  leguminous  vegetables. 
French  beans  possess  much  the  same  qualities  ;  but 
yield  a  more  watery  juice,  and  have  a  greater  dispo- 
sition to  produce  flatulence.  The  leguminous  vege- 
tables in  general  ought  to  be  eaten  with  some 
spice. 

"  Salads,  being  eaten  raw,  require  good  digestive 
powers,  especially  those  of  the  cooling  kind  ;  and 
the  addition  of  oil  and  vinegar,  though  qualified 
with  mustard,  hardly  renders  the  free  use  of  them 
consistent  with  a  weak  stomach. 

"  Spinage  aflx)rds  a  soft  hdiricating  aliment,  but 
contains  little  nourishment.  In  weak  stomachs  it  is 
apt  to  produce  acidity,  and  frequently  a  looseness. 
To  obviate  these  effects,  it  ought  always  to  be  well 
beaten,  and  but  little  butter  mixed  with  it. 

"  Asparagus  is  a  nourishing   article   in  diet,   and 


44 

promotes  urine  ;  but,  in  common  with  the  vegetable 
class  disposes  a  little  to  flatulence. 

"  Artichokes  resemble  asparagus  in  their  qualities, 
but  seem  to  be  more  nutritive,  and  less  diuretic. 

"  White  Cahhage  is  one  of  the  most  conspicuous 
plants  in  the  garden.  It  does  not  afford  much  nou- 
rishment, but  is  an  agreeable  addition  to  animal  food, 
and  not  quite  so  flatulent  as  the  common  greens. 
It  is  likewise  diuretic,  and  somewhat  laxative.  Cab- 
bage has  a  stronger  tendency  to  putrefaction  than 
most  other  vegetable  substances  ;  and,  during  their 
putrefying  state,  sends  forth  an  offensive  smell, 
much  resembling  that  of  putrefying  animal  bodies. 
So  far,  however,  from  promoting  a  putrid  disposi- 
tion in  the  human  body,  it  is,  on  the  contrary,  a 
w^holesome  ahment  in  the  true  putrid  scurvy. 

"  Turnips  are  a  nutritious  article  of  vegetable 
food,  biit  not  very  easy  of  digestion,  and  m^e  flatu- 
lent. This  eifect  is,  in  a  great  measure,  obviated 
by  pressing  the  water  out  of  them  before  they  are 
eaten. 

"  Carrots  contain  a  considerable  quantity  of  nu- 
tritious juice,  but  are  among  the  most  flatulent  of 
vegetable  productions. 

"  Parsnips  are  more  nourishing  and  less  flatulent 
than  carrots,  which  they  also  exceed  in  the  sweet- 
ness of  their  mucilage.  By  boiling  them  in  two 
different  waters,  thev  are  rendered  less  flatulent,  but 


45 

their  other  qualities  are  thereby  diminished  in  pro- 
portion. 

"  Parsley  is  of  a  stimulating  and  aromatic  nature, 
well  calculated  to  make  agreeable  sauces.  It  is 
also  a  gentle  diuretic,  but  preferable  in  all  its  quali- 
ties when  boiled. 

"  Celery  affords  a  root  both  wholesome  and  frag- 
rant, but  is  difficuh  of  digestion  in  its  raw  state.  It 
gives  an  agreeable  taste  to  soups,  as  well  as  renders 
them  diuretic. 

*'  Onions,  garlic,  and  shallot,  are  all  of  a  stimu- 
lating nature,  by  w^hich  they  assist  digestion,  dissolve 

slimy  humours,  and  pxnel  flatulencv.  They  are. 
nowever    most  suhable  to   persons  of  a  cold    and 

phlegmatic  constitution. 

"  Radishes  of  all  kinds,  particularly  the  horse- 
radish, agree  with  the  three  preceding  articles  in 
powerfully  dissolving  slimy  humours.  They  excite 
the  discharge  of  air  lodged  in  the  intestines  ;  but 
this  proceeds  from  the  expulsion  of  the  air  con- 
tained in  themselves. 

"  Apples  are  a  wholesome  vegetable  aliment,  and 
in  many  cases  medicinal,  particularly  in  diseases  ot 
the  breast  and  complaints  arising  from  the  phlegm. 
But,  in  general,  they  agree  best  with  the  stomach 
when  eaten  either  roasted  or  boiled.  The  more 
aromatic  kinds  of  apples  are  the  fittest  for  eating 
raw. 

"  Pears  resemble  much  in  their  efTects  the  sweet 


46 

kind  of  apples,  but  have  more  of  a  laxative  quality, 
and  a  greater  tendency  to  flatulence. 

"  Cherries  are,  in  general,  a  wholesome  fruit, 
when  they  agree  with  the  stomach,  and  they  are 
beneficial  in  many  diseases,  especially  those  of  the 
putrid  kind. 

"  Plumbs  are  nourishing,  and  have  besides  an 
attenuating,  as  well  as  a  laxative  quality  ;  but  are 
apt  to  produce  flatulence.  If  eaten  fresh,  and  be- 
fore they  are  quite  ripe,  especially  in  large  quanti- 
ties, they  occasion  colics  and  other  complaints  of  the 
bowels. 

"  Pparhps  HYP:  not  of  a  verv  nourishing  quMity, 
but  they  abound  in  juice^  and  are  serviceable  in  Dll- 
lious  complaints. 

"  Apricots  are  more  pulpy  than  peaches,  but  are 
apt  to  ferment,  and  produce  acidities  in  weak  sto- 
machs. Where  they  do  not  disagree  they  are  cool- 
ing, and  tend  hkewise  to  correct  a  disposition  to  pu- 
tresce'ncy. 

*'  Gooseberries,  as  well  as  currants,  when  ripe,  are 
similar  in  their  qualities  to  Cherries,  and,  when  used 
in  a  green  state,  they  are  agreeably  cooling. 

"  Strawberries  are  an  agreeable,  cooling  aliment, 
and  are  accounted  good  against  the  gravel. 

"  Cucumbers  are  cooling,  and  agreeable  to  the 
palate  in  hot  weather  ;  but  to  prevent  them  from 
proving  hurtful  to  the  stomach  the  juice  ought  to  be 
squeezed  oiu  before  they  are  sliced,  and  vinegar, 
pepper,  and  salt,  afterwards  added. 


47 

*'  Tea.     By  some  the  use   of  this  exotic   is  con- 
demned in  terms  the  most  vehement  and  unqiiahfied. 
while  others  have  either  asserted   its  innocence,  or 
gone  so  far   as  to  ascribe  to   it  salubrious  and  even 
extraordinary  virtues.     The   truth  seems  to  he  be- 
tween these  extremes  :  there  is  however  an  essential 
difference  in  the  effects  of  green  tea  and  of  black,  or 
bohea  ;  the  former  of  which  is  much  more  apt  to  af- 
fect the  nerves  of  the  stomach  than  the  latter,  espe- 
cially when  drunk  without  cream  and  likewise  with- 
out bread  and  butter.     That  when  taken  in  a  large 
quantity,  or  at  a  later  hour   than   usual,  it  often  pro- 
duces watchfulness,  is  a  point  which  cannot  be  de- 
nied ;  but  if  used   in  moderation,   and  accompanied 
with  the  addition  just  now  mentioned,  it  does  not  sen- 
sibly discover  any  hurtful  effects,  but  greatly  relieves 
an  oppression  of  the  stomach,  and    abates  a  pain  of 
the  head.     It  ought  always  to  be  made  of  a  moder- 
ate degree  of  strength  :  for  if  too  weak  it   certainly 
relaxes  the  stomach.      As  it  has  an   astringent  taste, 
which  seems    not  very  consistent  with   a   relaxing 
power,  there  is  ground  for  ascribing  this  effect  not  so 
much  to  the  herb   itself  as   to  the   hot  water,  which 
not  being  impregnated  with   a   sufficient  quantity   of 
tea  to  correct  its  own  emollient  tendency,  produces  a 
relaxation  unjustly  imputed  to  some  noxious, quality 
of  the  plant.      Bui  tea,  like  every  other  commodity, 
is   liable  to    damage,  and  when  this  happens    it  may 
produce  eflects  not   necessarily    connected   with    its 
original  qualities. 


4S 

•*  Coffee.  It  is  allowed  that  coffee  promotes  di- 
gestion, and  exhilarates  the  animal  spirits  ;  besides 
which,  various  other  qualities  are  ascribed  to  it,  such 
as  dispeUing  flatulency,  removing  dizziness  of  the 
head,  attenuating  viscid  humours,  increasing  the  cu'- 
culation  of  the  blood,  and  consequently  perspiration  ; 
but  if  drunk  too  strong  it  affects  the  nerves,  occa- 
sions watchfulness,  and  tremor  of  the  hands  ;  though 
in  some  phlegmatic  constitutions  h  is  apt  to  produce 
sleep.  Indeed  it  is  to  persons  of  that  habit  that  cof- 
fee is  well  accommodated  :  for  to  people  of  a  thin 
and  dry  habit  of  body  it  seems  to  be  injurious. — 
Turkey  coffee  is  greatly  preferable  in  flavour  to  that 
of  the  West-Indies.  Drunk  only  in  the  quantity  of 
one  dish  after  dinner  to  promote  digestion,  it  answers 
best  v,4thout  either  sugar  and  milk  :  but  if  taken  at 
other  times  it  should  have  both,  or  in  place  of  the 
latter  rather  cream,  which  not  only  improves  the  be- 
verage but  tends  to  mitigate  the  effect  of  coffee  up- 
on the  nerves. 

*'  Chocolate  is  a  nutritive  and  wholesome  compo- 
sition if  taken  in  small  quantity,  and  not  repeated  too 
often  ;  but  is  generally  hurtful  to  the  stomach  of 
those  with  whom  a  vegetable  diet  disagrees.  By 
the  addition  of  vanilla  and  other  ingredients  it  is 
made  too  heating,  and  so  much  affects  particular 
constitutions  as  to  excite  nervous  symptoms,  espe- 
cially complaints  of  the  head." 


49 


ICXEHOISE. 


The  position  is  universally  established  that  exer- 
cise should  be  ranked  as  among  the  most  powerful 
agents  which  we  can  employ  for  the  preservation  of 
life  and  health.  The  ancients  as  well  as  moderns, 
have  attributed  great  utihty  in  pursuing  a  proper 
course  of  exercise,  and  even  considered  it  the  sole 
instrument  in  the  cure  of  some  diseases,  especially 
those  of  the  glandular  and  nervous  systems.  Galen, 
was  a  zealous  advocate  for  the  various  kinds  of  ex- 
ercise as  a  curative  remedy,  and  the  great  Syden- 
ham, was  so  exceedingly  sanguine  in  his  opinion  of 
its  salutary  effects  in  the  prevention  and  cure  of  nu- 
merous diseases,  that  he  was  led  to  give  a  latitude  to 
it  which  can  scarcely  be  admitted.  Indeed  the  be- 
neficial effects  to  be  derived  from  exercise  properly 
performed,  in  all  chronic  diseases,  are  almost  incon- 
ceivable. It  strengthens  the  solid  parts  and  promotes 
the  circulation  of  the  fluids  beyond  any  thing  else 
within  the  compass  of  nature.  It  increases  jierspi- 
ration,  and  prevents  many  of  those  diseases  which 
cannot  be  cured,  and  may  remove  others  where  me- 
dicine proves  ineffectual. 


50 

"  A  common  source  of  consumption  in  our  females,'^ 
says  an  excellent  writer,  "is  want  of  exercise  ;  there 
is  perhaps  no  place  in  which  the  common  habits  of 
improved  social  Hfe  are  adopted,  in  which  this  sect 
are  less  attentive  to  that  most  essential  requisite  for 
the  preservation  of  health  than  in  this  (Boston.) 

"No  exercise  is  equally  salutary  with  that  of 
walking.  This  gives  action  to  the  muscles  of  the 
limbs,  whence  the  circulation,  from  the  distance  of 
the  vessels  from  the  heart,  is  apt  to  be  languid.  It 
throws  the  blood  forcibly  forward  towards  the  lungs, 
and  thereby  affords  an  opportunity  for  the  mass  to  be 
exposed  in  larger  quantities  to  the  action  of  the  air, 
hy  which  alone  it  is  rendered  fit  for  circulation. 
This  oxygenation  of  the  blood  by  air  endues  it  with 
the  property,  by  which  it  is  enabled  to  excite  its 
vessels  into  stronger  action,  and  by  that  means  to 
give  strength  and  vigour  to  the  whole  system. 

"  Who  does  not  notice,  that  our  sedentary  fe- 
males are  put  out  of  breath  by  the  smallest  degree 
of  exertion,  beyond  what  they  have  been  accustom- 
ed to  ?  That  the  lungs  have  become  so  irritable 
for  want  of  the  stimulus,  which  exercise  exerts  upon 
them,  as  to  be  thrown  into  a  kind  of  convulsive 
cough  from  the  most  trifling  acceleration  of  the  blood 
in  its  passage  through  them. 

"  Whereas  in  the  females  of  our  country  towns, 
who  have  constantly  habituated  themselves  to  walk- 
ing, riding,  and  the  greatest  variety  of  domestic  la- 


bours,  may  be  noticed  the  large  play  of  lungs  in 
quick  walking  ;  a  deep  and  full  respiration,  with  all 
the  attendant  advantages  of  a  sufficiently  complete 
oxygenation  of  the  blood. 

"  Nor  are  these  observations  inapplicable  to  the 
other  sex.  There  is  not  one  man  in  a  hundred,  that 
exercises  sufficiently  in  mercantile  chies  ;  because 
not  one  in  a  hundred,  from  the  nature  of  his  occu- 
pation is  obliged  to  do  it ;  and  not  one  in  two  hund- 
red will  do  it  from  principle."*  The  more  active 
kinds  of  exercise  as  walking,  running,  leaping,  rid- 
ing, swimming,  fencing,  &ic.  are  the  most  suitable 
to  youth  and  those  of  a  middle  age,  and  particularly 
to  the  corpulent.  The  passive  kind  as  riding  in  a 
carriage,  saihng,  swinging,  &;c.  are  best  adapted  to 
mfants,  to  the  aged,  and  to  the  dehcate  and  weak. 
Walking  gives  the  most  general  action  to  the  mus- 
cles of  the  body  and  limbs,  but  for  the  valetudina- 
rian and  those  who  have  weak  bowels,  or  are  con- 
sumptive, riding  on  horseback  is  preferable.  It  is 
almost  incredible  how  much  the  constitution  may  be 
strengthened  by  this  exercise,  when  continued  for  a 
considerable  time,  especially  when  on  long  journies 
a  perpetual  change  of  air,  and  of  scenes  and  objects 
combine  their  advantages.  Invalids  who  have  re- 
course to  this  exercise  should  be  accompanied  by  a 
cheerful  companion,  and  they  should  not  commence 
a  journey    for    health,    until    they  have  tried   theic 

*  Warren  on  Mercurial  Practice* 


52 

strength  in  short  rides  ;  nor  discontinue  the  exercise 
abruptly  but  gradually.  They  should  divest  the 
mind  of  all  deep  reflection,  and  gratify  the  sight 
with  the  prospect  of  the  various  objects  which  pre- 
-sent  themselves  to  view.  The  unwholesome  air  of 
large  towns,  the  damps  of  marshes,  and  the  morning 
and  evening  dews,  ought  to  be  particularly  avoided 
by  invahds  when  travelling  for  health.  It  should  be 
remarked  that  exercise  immediately  after  eating  is 
frequently  productive  of  hurtful  consequences,  parti- 
cularly in  those  of  nervous  and  irritable  constitu- 
tions ;  and  fatiguing  exercise  should  never  be  prac- 
ticed till  the  process  of  digestion  is  completed,  which 
generally  requires  three  or  four  hours  after  eating. 

The  exercise  of  riding  in  a  carriage  is  conducive 
to  health,  but  the  greater  the  motion  allowed  to  the 
body  of  the  carriage,  the  more  beneficial  will  be  its 
effects,  provided  too  much  fatigue  be  avoided. 

Dancing  is  a  salutary  exercise,  especially  in  the 
winter,  if  not  too  violent  or  carried  to  excess  ;  but 
when  performed  in  the  warm  atmosphere  of  a  crowd- 
ed assembly,  and  especially  if,  at  the  same  time,  li- 
quors of  a  heating  nature  be  taken,  or  cooling  drinks 
during  a  profuse  perspiration,  very  serious  conse- 
quences may  be  apprehended  from  such  excesses. 
The  laborious  kinds  of  exercise  attending  agricultu- 
ral employments,  as  hoeing,  digging,  raking,  chop- 
ping, &c.  have  sometimes  been  found  to  produce 
advantageous  effects.  For  children,  skipping  the 
rope  is  a  salutary  kind  of  exercise^ 


53 

Among  the  passive  kinds  of  exercise,  sailing  is 
the  most  efficacious.  The  giddiness  of  the  head, 
nausea  and  vomiting,  which  is  often  experienced  by 
those  who  are  unaccustomed  to  the  motion  of  a  ves- 
sel, are  productive  of  very  salutary  effects.  Con- 
sumptive patients,  if  they  have  recourse  to  sailing  at 
an  early  stage,  and  also  the  nervous  and  hypocon- 
driac,  will  often  derive  from  this  kind  of  exercise  the 
most  essential  benefit.  But  to  those  who  are  sub- 
ject to  spitting  of  blood  sailing  is  not  to  be  recom- 
mended. Reading  or  speaking  aloud  is  a  salutary 
kind  of  exercise  ;  but  to  exert  the  voice  vehemently 
immediately  after  a  meal,  is  injurious  both  to  the 
lungs  and  the  organs  of  digestion.  The  action  of 
singing  shakes  the  lungs  and  the  contents  of  the  ab- 
domen, which  promotes  in  a  remarkable  degree  the 
circulation  of  the  blood  through  those  organs.  But 
ihe  reverse  of  this  takes  place  with  those  who  are 
much  in  the  employment  of  wind  instruments,  as 
they  introduce  a  large  quantity  of  air  into  the  lungs, 
and  keep  that  organ  too  long  in  a  state  of  distention. 
Hence  persons  of  weak  lungs  who  play  much  upon 
the  flute  or  other  wind  instruments,  are  frequently 
afflicted  with  spitting  of  blood,  cough,  shortness  of 
breath  and  pulmonary  consumption. 

There  is  a  species  of  exercise  yet  to  be  noticed, 

as  both  gentle  and  useful,  and  in  the  power  of  every 

one,  but  which  is  too  much  neglected.     I  mean  fric- 

#on  of  the  body  by  a  piece  of  llanncl  or  coarse  linen 

6* 


54 

cloth.  Friction  is  a  kind  of  exercise  that  remarka- 
bly contributes  to  the  health  of  sedentary  persons  ; 
it  excites  and  kindles  the  natural  warmth  ;  promotes 
perspiration,  strengthens  the  fibres,  and  tends  to  dis- 
sipate stagnant  humours.  The  operation  is  particu- 
larly beneficial  to  the  nervous,  debilitated  and  stu- 
dious. The  parts  to  be  particularly  subjected  to 
this  operation  are  chiefly  the  abdomen,  the  spine  or 
back  bone,  and  the  arms  and  legs.  Even  in  a  state 
of  health  this  kind  of  exercise  will  be  found  exceed- 
ingly useful,  but  in  many  chronic  complaints  it  is  an 
excellent  remedy  which  cannot  be  too  much  recom- 
mended as  a  useful  substitute  for  other  exercise 
which  cannot  be  resorted  to  at  all  times.  It  should 
be  performed  every  morning  and  evening  when  the 
stomach  and  bowels  are  empty,  and  continued  for 
twenty  minutes,  at  a  time.  In  rubbing  the  abdomen 
the  operation  ought  to  be  performed  in  a  circular  di- 
rection as  being  most  favourable  to  the  course  of  the 
intestines,  and  their  natural  action.  It  is.proper  here 
to  remark,  that  many  ill  consequences  may  result 
from  certain  unnatural  positions  of  the  body  which 
sedentary  artificers  and  others  are  accustomed  to 
practice.  A  bending  posture  of  the  body  while  sit- 
ting with  the  head  reclined  forwards,  tends  greatly  to 
check  the  circulation  of  the  fluids  in  the  abdomen  ; 
and  the  head  itself  suffers  by  such  inconvenient  po- 
sition. It  is  likewise  injurious  to  the  lungs,  for  when 
this  organ  is  compressed,  the  air   cannot   have   free 


access  in  all  its  parts  so  as  to  expand  thcni  properly  ; 
the  vital  motions  are  thereby  impeded  and  the  health 
of  course  must  be  greatly  impaired.  Those  persons 
therefore,  who  spend  much  of  their  time  in  writing, 
should  employ  high  tables  or  desks,  and  raised  seats^ 
which  will  allow  the  body  a  more  erect  position. — 
Artificers  whose  lower  limbs  are  constantly  confined, 
as  shoe-makers  and  taylors,  ought  to  sit  as  erect  as 
the  nature  of  their  employment  will  permit,  and 
should  change  their  position,  and  make  use  of  active 
exercise  as  frequently  as  possible.  AUhough  bodily 
exercise  is  an  essential  requisite  for  the  preservation 
of  health,  this  should  not  exceed  the  bounds  of 
moderation  ;  as  too  violent  exercise,  and  to  a  total 
want  of  it,  are  attended  with  equal  disadvantages. 


56 


OF  SZ.EZSX'. 


*'SucH  is  the  general  constitution  of  animal  bodies^ 
that  with  all  the  aid  of  aliment  they  cannot  long  sub- 
sist unless  refreshed  by  the  natural  vicissitudes  of 
waking  and  sleep.  These  periodical  changes  in  the 
state  of  our  existence  are  as  necessary  to  health  and 
life  as  the  alternate  returns  of  day  and  night  to  the 
regularity  of  the  solar  system.  In  what  proportion 
they  ought  to  divide  our  time,  is  a  question  worthy 
of  consideration  ;  and  for  this  purpose  it  is  proper  to 
ascertain  the  end  for  which  mankind  was  created. — - 
Both  reason  and  scripture  assure  us  that  we  are 
placed  here  in  a  state  of  probation,  to  exercise  our 
natural  faculties  according  to  the  laws  of  morality ; 
and,  by  improving  ourselves  in  habits  of  virtue,  to  be 
rendered  fit  for  the  enjoyment  of  a  nobler  and  eter- 
nal state  of  existence. 

"  Such  being  the  case,  it  follows,  that  the  proper 
cultivation  of  the  mind  ought  always  to  be  our  prin- 
cipal object :  and  as  this  duty  can  be  performed 
only  when  awake,  we  may  justly  conclude  that  the 
smallest  portion  of  our  time  should  be  devoted  to  the 


57 

repose  of  the  bed.  In  this,  however,  we  are  left  en- 
tirely to  be  guided  by  our  own  discretion  :  But  it 
happens  fortunately,  that  the  dictates  of  reason  coin- 
cide with  the  best  physical  rules  for  the  preservation 
of  health.  In  most  constitutions,  six  hours  will  be 
found  a  sufficient  time  for  the  indulgence  of  sleep  ; 
and  if  protracted  beyond  eight  it  proves  rather  inju- 
rious than  beneficial ;  though  in  respect  of  children 
a  greater  latitude  is  allowed. 

"  The  proper  time  for  the  periodical  return  of 
sleep  is  pointed  out  by  nature  herself,  when  the  light 
of  the  day  gives  place  to  night,  and  when  those  who 
have  laboured  from  the  morning  stand  in  need  of  re- 
pose. I  would  not,  however,  be  understood  to  fix 
the  commencement  of  sleep  precisely  to  the  ap- 
proach of  darkness,  since  in  winter,  unless  for  those 
who  intend  to  rise  early,  such  a  practice  would  lead 
to  the  prolongation  of  sleep  beyond  the  period  which 
has  been  mentioned  as  the  most  salutary  ;  besides 
that  this  would  interfere  with  the  innocent  gratifica- 
tions of  society,  than  which  nothing  is  more  agreea- 
ble, or  more  beneficial  to  health. 

"  To  secure  sound  sleep,  the  best  expedient  is  to 
take  suJlicient  exercise  in  the  open  air,  to  eat  no 
heavy  supj)cr,  and  to  lie  down  in  bed  in  perfect  tran- 
quility of  mind,  and  without  the  attention  being  fixed 
on  any  subject  connected  with  abstruse  inquiry.  It 
ought  likewise  to  be  observed,  that  a  person  should 
not  go  to  bed  till  an  hour  and  an  half  after  supper* 


58 

"  It  is  a  general  opinion  that  sleep  is  most  re- 
freshing in  the  fore  part  of  the  night :  but  perhaps 
this  notion  arose  originally  from  a  presumption,  that 
the  person  who  goes  to  bed  at  a  moderate  hour  will 
of  course  rise  sooner  in  the  morning.  It  is  certain^ 
however,  that  the  hour  of  going  to  bed  ought  not  to 
be  so  late  as  to  protract  the  time  of  waking  till  the 
morning  is  far  advanced  :  for  the  custom  of  early 
rising  is  extremely  conducive  to  health. 

"  When  the  muscles  are  fatigued  by  the  labors  or 
exercise  of  the  day,  and  the  senses  have  for  some 
time  been  active,  we  stand  in  need  of  the  vicissitude 
of  rest,  particularly  that  of  sleep,  which  is  as  it  were 
a  periodical  suspension  of  our  existence  :  and  the 
ordinance  of  this  expedient,  so  necessary  for  the  sup- 
port of  animal  life,  is  one  of  the  wonders  that  excite 
our  admiration  in  surveying  the  works  of  the  Crea- 
tor. During  a  sound  sleep,  the  senses,  and  the  vol- 
untary muscular  motions  are  not  exercised  5  but  the 
vital  functions,  such  as  respiration,  and  the  circula- 
tion of  the  blood,  as  well  as  digestion,  and  the  other 
natural  functions,  are  regularly  though  more  slowly 
performed.  While  we  are  asleep,  the  motion  of  the 
heart  and  the  blood  vessels,  even  the  action  of  the 
brain  and  the  nervous  system,  as  likewise  the  pecu- 
liar motion  of  the  stomach  and  intestines,  and  the  se- 
cretion of  the  fluids,  are  performed  in  an  uniform 
and  steady  manner.  Previous  to  sleep,  we  per- 
ceive a  languor  of  the  senses,  of  the  muscles  which 


59 

are  subject  to  our  will,  and  of  those  also  which  keep 
the  body  in  an  erect  posture.  The  head  inclines 
downwards,  the  upper  eye-hd  and  the  lower  jaw- 
bone likewise  sink  ;  the  blood  in  the  veins  accumu- 
lates towards  the  heart,  and  compels  us  to  yawn,  in 
order  to  facilitate  the  transition  of  tlie  blood  into  the 
lungs  by  the  deep  breathing.  The  brain  itself,  as 
the  organ  of  the  mind,  appears  to  be  fatigued  ;  hence 
our  ideas  become  irregular,  and  there  arises  a  slight 
imbecihty  of  the  understanding.  That  the  motions 
of  the  heart  are  stronger  during  sleep,  and  that  pers- 
piration is  more  abundant,  must  be  ascribed  to  the 
warmth  of  the  bed-clothes,  by  which  the  insensible 
perspiration  softens  and  relaxes  the  skin. 

"  As  the  senses  are  inactive  during  sleep  ;  as  the 
nervous  energy  is  less  expended,  and  its  secretion 
continued,  a  new  supply  of  it  is  collected,  and  the 
organs  of  sense,  as  well  as  the  muscles,  receive  addi- 
tional vigour.  This  occasions  us  to  awake,  particu- 
larly if  roused  by  any  stimulus.  While  we  are 
asleep,  the  nutritive  particles  of  the  blood  can  more 
easily  attach  themselves  to  the  fibres,  and  fat  also  is 
more  easily  generated,  from  the  slower  circulation  of 
the  blood.  After  we  have  slept  sufficiently,  we  are 
apt  on  waking  to  stretch  the  limbs  and  joints,  and 
sometimes  to  yawn  ;  the  former  of  these  to  restore 
the  equilibrium  of  the  niucles,  which  had  been  affect- 
ed during  sleep  ;  and  the  latter  from  an  instinctive 
desire    of  promoting   the    circulation    of  tlie   bloo4 


60 

through  the  lungs,  which  was  retarded  during  sleep. 
Such  is  the  process  of  nature  in  conducting  the 
transition  from  waking  to  sleep  and  back  again,  and 
thence  restoring  both  the  body  and  mind  to  the  grate- 
ful vicissitudes  of  sense  and  action. 

"  To  explain  one  remarkable  phenomenon,  which 
frequently  occurs  during  sleep,  namely,  that  of 
dreams,  is  a  subject  which  has  exercised  the  inge- 
nuity of  many  physiological  inquirers.  These  spor- 
tive fancies  are  evidently  vagaries  of  the  imagination? 
and  take  place  only  when  our  sleep  is  unsound. — 
We  seldom  dream  during  the  first  hours  of  sleep  ; 
perhaps  because  the  nervous  fluid  is  then  too  much 
exhausted  ;  but  dreams  mostly  occur  towards  the 
morning,  when  this  fluid  has  been  in  some  measure 
restored.  Every  thing  capable  of  interrupting  the 
tranquihty  of  the  mind  or  body  may  produce  dreams. 
Such  are  affections,  passions,  and  exertions  of  the 
mind,  crude  and  undigested  food,  he.  Those  ideas 
which  have  lately  occupied  our  mind,  or  made  a 
lively  impression  upon  us,  generally  constitute  the 
principal  subject  of  a  dream,  and  more  or  less  em- 
ploy our  imagination  when  we  are  asleep.  Dreams 
are,  as  it  were  a  middle  state  between  sleeping  and 
waking  ;  and  when  accompanied  with  startings,  ab- 
rupt and  incoherent  speeches,  and  a  frequent  change 
of  posture,  they  are  often  either  the  effect  or  the 
forerunner  of  some  indisposition.  In  general,  how- 
ever, they  proceed  from  the  irritation  of  the  stomach. 


61 

or  intestinal  canal.  Sleep  without  dreams,  of  what- 
ever kind  they  be,  is  more  healthful  than  when  at- 
tended with  these  fancies.  Yet  dreams  of  an  agree- 
able kind  promote  the  free  circulation  of  the  blood, 
the  digestion  of  the  food,  and  a  due  state  of  perspira- 
tion. 

"  To  continue  awake  beyond  a  proper  time  con- 
sumes the  vital  spirits,  hurts  the  nerves,  and  causes 
many  uneasy  sensations.  The  fluids  of  the  body  be- 
come more  acrid  or  sharp,  the  fat  is  consumed,  and 
there  comes  on  at  length  a  tendency  to  giddiness, 
head-ach,  and  anxiety.  Those  who  indulge  them- 
selves in  much  sleep  are  seldom  liable  to  very  strong 
passions.  Excess  of  sleep,  however,  is  prejudicial. 
The  body  sinks  gradually  into  a  complete  state  of 
inactivity,  the  soHd  parts  become  relaxed,  the  blood 
circulates  slowly,  and  remains  particularly  long  in 
the  head.  Perspiration  is  disordered,  the  body  in- 
creases in  fat  and  thick  humours,  the  memory  is 
enfeebled,  and  the  person  falls  into  such  a  state  that 
his  sensibility  is,  in  a  great  measure,  destroyed." 


62 
or  CI.IJAM1.INSSS. 


Among  the  means  of  extensive  influence  in  the 
preservation  of  health,  a  strict  attention  to  cleanli- 
ness is  not  to  be  considered  as  the  least  important. — 
Uninterrupted  perspiration  is  indispensable  for  the 
security  of  health  ;  but  it  cannot  long  be  maintained 
without  an  uniform  attention  to  cleanliness.  The  va- 
pours which  continually  exhale  through  the  pores 
soon  impregnate  those  parts  of  our  apparel  which 
come  in  contact  with  the  skin,  and  this  is  a  frequent 
cause  of  those  cutaneous  diseases  which  are  often  so 
troublesome  and  difHcult  of  cure.  Besides  those 
putrid  vapours  adhering  to  the  skin  are  apt  to  be  ab- 
sorbed into  the  blood  and  thus  becomes  the  source 
of  malignant  fevers  and  other  fatal  diseases.  Per- 
sonal cleanliness  is  not  only  an  amiable  virtue,  but  a 
source  of  much  comfort  and  satisfaction  to  all  who 
pretend  to  the  least  degree  of  politeness  and  delica- 
cy. With  the  laudable  view  of  freeing  the  skin 
from  impurities  the  practice  of  washing  the  body  in 
cold  or  tepid  water  is  highly  to  be  commended. — 
The  usefulness  of  this  mean  of  cleanhness  is  scarce- 
ly to  be  conceived  by  those  who  have  not  experienc- 
ed its  advantages  ;  and  those  who  have  would  not  be 
persuaded   to    relinquish  the  practice. 


63 


OF  CLOTHING, 


In  a  climate  so  variable  as  that  of  the  United 
States,  both  the  nature  and  the  texture  of  the  mate- 
rials which  compose  our  dress,  merit  more  particular 
consideration  than  in  general  is  bestowed  upon  them. 
Numerous  diseases  are  to  be  ascribed  to  the  want  of 
attention  in  accommodating  our  dress  to  the  tempe- 
rature of  the  climate,  and  to  the  various  seasons  and 
vicissitudes  of  the  weather.  It  ought  to  be  varied 
in  point  of  thickness  and  warmth,  according  to  the 
sudden  changes  in  the  atmosphere  which  occur  at 
different  seasons.  It  is  however,  not  intended  to  in- 
culcate a  scrupulous  nicety  in  changing  the  dress 
with  the  daily  fluctuations  of  the  weather,  but  the 
general  precept,  not  to  dispense  with  the  winter 
dress  too  early  in  the  spring,  nor  retain  that  of  the 
summer  till  the  approach  of  the  boisterous  season  of 
autumn,  should  be  most  strictly  regarded.  Those 
who  have  a  just  conception  of  the  baneful  influcnct' 
of  intense  cold,  when  applied  to  the  skin,  will  duly 
appreciate  the  precaution  above  suggested.  It  is 
nevertheless,  a  question  deserving  of  consideration, 
whether  in  our  variable  climate,  it  is   not  [)referable 


64 

to  adopt  a  certain  species  of  dress,  that  should  serve 
for  all  seasons,  or  at  least,  that  the  variation  should 
be  very  inconsiderable.  With  respect  to  the  infirm, 
the  tender,  and  the  aged,  this  mode  is  undoubtedly 
the  most  eligible,  but  for  the  robust  and  youthful, 
whose  blood  is  warm,  and  perspiration  free,  a  large 
quantity  of  clothing  is  seldom  requisite,  and  in  the 
hot  season,  it  would  prove  tedious  and  inconvenient. 
It  is  well  known  that  delicate  people  when  thinly 
clad,  experience  the  severest  effects  from  the  vicissi- 
tudes of  the  weather ;  hence  we  may  infer  the  ab- 
surdity of  the  airy*  thin  attire,  which  is  imposed  up- 
on our  females  by  the  mandates  of  modern  fashion. 

Let  those  who  inquire  into  the  causes  of  the  in- 
creased prevalence  of  consumptions  in  the  United 
States,  advert  to  the  very  essential  deviation  from 
the  more  ancient  customs  and  modes  of  dress  ;  and 
to  the  adoption  of  such  as  are  regulated  only  by  the 
industrious  efforts  of  creative  fancy,  without  con- 
sulting their  adaptation  to  the  climate  and  vicissitudes 
of  seasons  which  continually  vary  from  one  extreme 
to  another.  Let  them  compare  the  general  healthi- 
ness of  the  native  Indians,  among  whom  consumption 
is  scarcely  known,  with  that  of  the  great  mass  of 
civilized  society  inhabiting  the  same  parallels  of  lati- 
tude, and  subject  to  the  influence  of  the  vicissitudes 
of  the  same  climate.  The  primitive  inhabitants  are 
inured  from  infancy,  to  all  the  severity  of  winter,  and 
the  changes   of  the  varied  seasons,  by  customs  and 


65 

liabits,  peculiarly  their  own,  by  which  they  are  ren- 
dered proof  against  the  sudden  attacks  of  disease. — 
Whilst  among  the  civilized  and  refined  class  of  peo- 
ple, it  is  customary  to  be  immured  within  the  walls  of 
close  rooms  heated  by  a  fire,  and  to  indulge  on  beds 
of  down  under  a  weight  of  covering  sufficient  to  re- 
lax every  fibre.  From  this  situation  it  is  not  uncom- 
mon to  see  our  fashionable  females,  and  even  tender 
children  of  both  sexes,  emerge  into  the  cold  atmos- 
phere with  their  necks,  breasts,  and  arms  exposed  to 
the  chiUing  air  of  spring  and  autumn,  while  at  the 
same  time,  they  exhibit  all  the  colors  of  a  rainbow. 
It  is  to  the  baneful  influence  of  the  boisterous  ele- 
ments through  most  of  the  fall,  winter,  and  spring 
months,  when  destitute  of  sufficient  clothing,  that  we 
may  attribute  many  of  the  physical  evils  to  which  we 
are  subject. 

The  Dutch  are  so  sensible  of  the  importance  of 
guarding  the  body  against  cold,  that  they  wear  more 
than  double  the  quantity  of  clothing  that  is  customa- 
ry in  this  country,  and  it  is  said  that  catarrhs,  and 
consumptions,  are  scarcely  named  in  the  catalogue 
of  diseases  among  those  people.  The  inhabhants  of 
Canada  are  in  the  habit  of  wearing  flannel  next  to 
their  skins,  and  when  exposed  to  the  severity  of  the 
weathfM-  they  are  wrapt  in  furs.  Strangers  who  visit 
our  country  from  abroad,  have  frequently  expressed 
their  astonishment  at  our  thin  dress,  so  very  ill  adapt- 
ed to  withstand  the  inclemency  of  the  wuallier  irt 
6* 


66 

this  cold  and  variable  climate  and  they  were  at  m 
loss  to  account  for  the  coughs,  catarrhs,  and  con- 
sumptions, so  prevalent  among  our  inhabitants.  The 
mode  of  dress  among  our  leaders  in  fashionable  life, 
cannot  but  appear  strikingly  inadequate  to  the  salu- 
tary purposes  for  which  it  is  intended.  It  is  not  un- 
common to  see  young  gentlemen  coming  from  a 
warm  close  room,  and  exposing  themselves  to  the 
severity  of  cold  easterly  winds,  storms,  and  night- 
dews,  with  scarcely  an  additional  garment.  These 
votaries  of  courteous  gallantry,  it  would  seem,  are 
more  solicitous  to  display  a  handsome  form,  than  to 
adopt  the  means  which  Providence  has  put  into  their 
power  for  the  preservation  of  hfe  and  health.  Nor 
is  the  imprudent  conduct  among  the  other  sex  less 
reprehensible.  In  preparing  for  an  evening  visit,  it 
is  common  for  ladies  to  retire  from  a  warm  parlour 
to  a  cold  dressing  room,  and  having  changed  a  com- 
fortable warm  gown,  for  one  of  thin  muslin  with  short 
wide  sieves,  leaving  the  arms  naked  almost  to  the 
shoulders,  and  the  neck  and  breast  bare,  or  covered 
with  thin  lace,  they  walk  through  the  streets  with 
thin  shoes,  by  which  their  feet  are  unavoidably  wet 
and  cold,  and  as  the  rules  of  politeness  forbid  their 
drying  them  in  presence  of  company,  they  sit  a  con- 
siderable time  in  a  shivering  condition.  At  length, 
tea  being  served  about,  and  the  fund  of  anecdote  and 
conversation  exhausted,  they  retire  from  a  warm 
»Towded  room,  through  the  cold  and  damp  night  air. 


67  ! 

and  soon  go  shivering  to  bed.     Who  will  be  surpris- 
ed that  the  consequences  of  such  imprudent  exposure, 
are  catarrhal  affections  of  the  chest  and  lunss,  with 
cough  and  Jioarseness,   eventually  terniinating  in  fa- 
tal consumptions?     "  Motives  of  delicacy  as  well  as 
regard   for  health,   have   been   repeatedly   urged  in 
vain  to  enforce  the  necessity  of  relinquishing  these 
destructive   habits  ;  the   arguments  of  the  moralist, 
and   of  the   physician   having  alike  failed  to  convey 
conviction  ;  hundreds,  who  would  now   have   shone 
forth  among  the  loveliest  of  the  sex,  have  been  dres- 
sed in   shrouds,    because  in  an   evil  hour,   they  laid 
aside  those  parts  of  their  apparel   which  health,  as 
well  as   decency,   forbade  them  to  relinquish."     In 
Scotland  colds  were  extremely  rare,  and  consump- 
tions seldom  met  with  until  the  thick  warm  Scottish 
plaiding  was  relinquished  for  the  thin   English  dresSj 
these  disorders  became  extremely  rife,  and  are  now, 
perhaps  even  more  frequent  than   in   the  other  parts 
of  the  British  Island.     The   feet  and    chest  are  the 
two  parts  of  the  body  which  are  more  especially  lia- 
ble to  receive  the  ill  impressions  of  cold  and  commu* 
nicate  them  to  the  rest,  and  these  at  least  should  be 
defended  with  the  utmost  care,   by  covering  them 
with  flannel  or  fleecy  hosiery. 

There  is  another  custom  introduced  among  young 
females,  which  ought  to  be  noticed  here  for  the  ex- 
press purpose  of  bestowing  on  it  the  severest  rcpre* 
hcnsion.     It   is  that  of  wearing  iron  or  other   hard 


68 

substance,  called  corslets^  against  the  breast  bone 
with  the  view  of  improving  their  shape.  Could  they 
be  made  sensible  of  the  folly,  and  absolute  danger  of 
thus  compressing  the  vital  parts,  they  would  readily 
relinquish  all  claim  to  genteel  appearance,  rather  than 
incur  the  hazard  which  might  attend  the  use  of  corse- 
lets. Some  instances  of  fatal  accidents  attributed  to 
this  cause  have  been  already  announced. 

From  a  just  consideration  of  these  circumstances, 
the  question  may  be  readily  solved,  why  consump- 
tions have  so  greatly  increased  among  our  young 
people  of  late  years. 

The  perfection  of  dress  considered  merely  as 
such,  consists  in  its  being  accommodated  to  the  form 
of  the  body  without  pressing  or  binding  any  part. — 
Tight  bandages  about  the  neck  are  extremely  detri- 
mental. By  impeding  the  circulation  of  the  blood 
they  often  produce  head-ach,  vertigo,  and  other 
more  dangerous  complaints,  and  when  applied  to  the 
limbs,  they  prove  injurious  by  hurting  their  growth, 
and  occasioning  lameness  and  many  inconveniences. 

The  inquiry  is  often  made,  what  is  the  covering 
most  proper  to  be  worn  next  the  skin  ?  The  advan- 
tages and  disadvantages  of  a  flannel  shirt,  have  re- 
ceived such  ample  consideration  of  late  years,  that 
little  remains  to  be  said  on  the  subject,  but  to  re- 
commend the  general  employment  of  it,  as  one  of 
the  most  useful  articles  of  wearing  apparel.  Expe- 
rience has  so  fully  evinced  the  utility  of  covering  the 


69 

sVin  with  flannel,  that  no  person  who  has  been  habit- 
uated to  its  use  in  our  damp  and  variable  climate, 
can  be  persuaded  to  dispense  with  it  at  any  season 
of  the  year.  It  may  not  perhaps  seem  advisable  to 
recommend  the  use  of  flannel  shirts  indiscriminately 
to  infants,  and  young  heahhy  persons,  but  to  those  who 
have  passed  the  meridian  of  life,  to  persons  of  cold 
and  phlegmatic  habits,  to  such  as  are  subject  to  gout, 
rheumatism,  colds  and  catarrhs,  and  in  short,  to  vale- 
tudinarians of  every  description,  this  article  of  dress 
should  be  considered  as  an  indispensable  requisite. 

Linen  shirts  when  worn  a  few  days,  are  not  only 
liable  to  excite  a  sensation  of  coolness,  but  to  ob- 
struct perspiration,  which  effect  it  produces  in  pro- 
portion to  the  thickness  of  its  texture.  Flannel,  on 
account  of  the  gentle  friction  which  it  occasions  on 
the  skin,  produces  a  moderate  warmth,  and  promotes 
perspiration,  at  the  same  time,  on  account  of  the  po- 
rous nature  of  its  substance,  the  matter  which  it  ab- 
sorbs from  the  skin  is  easily  evaporated.  By  its 
gentle  stimulus  on  the  skin,  flannel  has  the  benefi- 
cial effect  of  keeping  the  pores  in  a  state  the  most 
favourable  to  a  uniform  perspiration,  and  when  by 
brisk  exercise,  the  body  is  covered  with  the  matter 
perspired,  it  passes  off  through  flannel  into  the  air, 
and  the  skin  remains  dry  and  warm.  But  during  a 
profuse  perspiration  in  linen  shirts,  the  perspired 
matter  instead  of  being  dispersed  into  the  atmos- 
phere,  is  retained  by  the  linen,  and  not  only  clogs 


70 

the  pores,  but  excites  a  very  disas^reeable  sensation- 
of  chilliness,  often  followed  by  a  violent  cold,  and 
sometimes  even  fatal  effects.  As  flannel  from  its 
open  texture  is  not  liable  to  retain  the  moisture  dis- 
charged from  the  skin,  people  who  wxar  it,  are  far 
more  secure  from  taking  cold  on  going  into  the  open 
air  during  profuse  perspiration,  than  those  who  wear 
linen  shirts. 

Prejudices  have  been  excited  against  flannel  by 
some  people  imagining  that  it  occasions  weakness  by 
too  much  increasing  perspiration,  but  when  it  is  con- 
sidered that  perspiration  can  seldom  be  immoderate 
as  long  as  the  skin  remains  dry,  and  that  flannel  tends 
to  preserve  It  in  this  state,  the  objection  will  not  ap- 
pear to  be  founded  in  truth.  It  Is  granted  that  flan- 
nel when  first  used  excites  an  unpleasant  sensation^ 
and  the  skin  is  apt  to  become  red  and  inflamed,  but 
this  Inconvenience  is  of  short  duration,  and  will  be 
deemed  a  trivial  objection  by  those  who  know  its^ 
many  advantages.  Instead  of  producing  cutaneous 
eruptions,  as  some  have  asserted,  a  flannel  shirt  by 
preserving  the  pores  open,  and  increasing  perspira- 
tion, tends  greatly  to  remove. the  cause  of  such  aflec- 
tions.  In  short,  there  are  no  disadvantages  attend- 
ing the  use  of  this  valuable  substance,  except  the 
wearer  neglects  to  change  it  sufliciently  often  to  pre- 
vent its  becoming  disagreeable  by  being  soiled  and 
.dirty.     It  ought  to  be  changed  twice  a  week. 


71 

Such  are  thf?  beneficial  effects  to  be  flerived  from 
tlie  iisfi  of  flannel,  that  it  may  be  strongly  recom- 
moiuled  as  a  preserv^atlve  of  health  ;  it  is  well  suitt^d 
to  all  seasons,  and  may  often  render  a  cumbrous 
upper  dress  unnecessary.  As  a  remedy  in  diseases, 
a  fl.^.nnel  shirt  has  been  known  to  prove  of  great 
utility  in  gouty,  and  particularly  in  rheumatic  habits, 
and  in  obstinate  coughs  attended  with  symptoms  of 
consumption.  Upon  the  whole  this  article  of  drees, 
considered  both  as  a  preservative,  and  remedy  of 
various  diseases,  merits  a  very  general  and  extensive 
employment.* 

Cotton  is  an  intermediate  substance  between  linen 
and  wool,  although  it  increases  waimih  and  perspi- 
ration, it  is  far  from  being  conducive  to  the  preser- 
vation of  health.  A  cotton  shirt,  is  very  liable  to 
imbibe  and  retain  the  matter  of  perspiration,  and  be- 
ing accumulated  in  the  form  of  a  glutinous  substance, 
obstructs  the  pores  of  the  skin,  and  affords  opportu- 
nity for  the  pers}>ired  humours  to  be  taken  again  into 
the  blood  to  the  great  injury  of  lieailh.  Cotton 
sto'^kings,  for  the  same  reason,  are  im})roper,  and 
both  linen,  and  silk  stockings,  have  nothing  but  taste 
and  fashion  to  recommend  them.  In  fact,  stockings 
made  of  wool,    are   greatly    to   be    preferred   to   all 

•  "Those  ofTicers  and  •^oldiers  ■\vlio  wore  flanrel  waistcoats  next 
to  their  S;-.ins  not  oulv  esc;tped  cold;^,  bii'  d'sentarie^  arid  o  her  con- 
tagious di- order- ;  while  tho^c  -hni  wore  none  were  soon  carried 
off  by  the  dif>eas)e«  to  coninionly  fatal  in  camps." — l)n.  Rush. 


72 

others,  on  account  of  warmth,  and   their  quahty  of 
promoting  an  uniform  perspiration. 

The  old  maxim  of  keeping  the  head  cool,  and  the 
feet  warm,  is  not  to  be  regarded  in  its  strict  unquali- 
fied sense.  The  covering  for  the  head  like  the 
other  parts  of  the  body,  sliould  be  accommodated  to 
the  state  of  the  weather.  There  can  liowever  be 
no  disadvantage  in  general,  in  keeping  it  lightly  and 
thinly  covered,  and  in  many  instances  of  young  per- 
sons, the  natural  covering  may  of  itself  be  a  sufficient 
protection  in  moderate  weather  :  and  indeed,  those 
who  accustom  themselves  to  wear  thick  warm  caps 
in  common,  render  their  heads  unnaturally  sensible 
to  all  changes  of  the  atmosphere.  There  are  never- 
theless, certain  persons  who  suffer  extreme  incon- 
venience from  the  w^ant  of  some  moderately  warm 
covering  for  the  head  :  deafness,  head-ach,  and 
many  other  complaints  are  on  some  occasions  to  be 
attributed  to  this  cause.  The  best  general  rule 
therefore,'  is,  to  avoid  the  two  extremes  of  great 
heat,  or  improper  exposure  to  cold,  and  when  expe- 
rience evinces  the  necessity  of  it,  some  proper  cov- 
ering, as  a  cap  or  wig  ought  to  be  adopted.  In  cold 
weather,  it  will  be  proper  to  cover  the  head  at  night 
with  a  cotton  or  flannel  cap,  in  order  to  preserve 
that  part  in  an  uniform  temperature  with  the  rest  of 
the  body. 

It  is  a  point  of  great  importance  during  a  hot  sea- 
son, to  have  the  head  properly  guarded  against  the 


73 

intense  vertical  rays  of  the  sun,  as  inflammation  of  the 
brain,  and  even  fatal  consequences  have  been  known 
to  ensue  from  an  exposure  to  their  influence.  The 
common  black  hats  with  very  narrow  brims,  wliich 
are  sanctioned  by  the  present  fashion,  are  evidently 
ill  calculated  to  shield  the  head  from  the  solar  rays. 
White,  or  light  coloured  hats,  as  they  have  greater 
power  of  reflecting  the  heat,  ought  in  summer  to  be 
preferred  to  black,  and  the  brims  should  be  lined 
with  green  silk  and  sufficiently  wide  to  protect  the 
eyes  and  face. 

The  keeping  the  feet  warm  and  dry,  is  to  be  con- 
sidered as  of  the  greatest  importance,  since  nume- 
rous diseases  owe  their  origin  to  a  want  of  care  and 
attention  in  this  respect.  In  consequence  of  wet 
and  cold  feet,  the  blood  is  accumulated  towards  the 
head,  a  sensation  of  coldness  over  the  whole  body  en- 
sues, perspiration  is  obstructed,  and  not  unfrequenily 
a  foundation  is  thus  laid  for  incurable  diseases. — 
The  feet  therefore,  ought  to  be  kept  somewhat 
warmer  than  the  rest  of  the  body. 

Having  said  thus  much  relative  to  the  materials 
of  our  dress,  it  remains  to  be  observed,  that  the 
quantity  must  be  determined  by  personal  experience, 
as  no  general  rule  can  be  prescribed  that  will  apply 
to  every  individual.  It  will  however,  be  found  a 
most  salutary  precaution  on  all  occasions,  so  to  in- 
crease, or  diminish,  the  outer  garments,  that  the 
body  may,  as   nearly  as  possible,  be  })re.served    in  a 


*4 

natural  and  uniform  temperature  in  all  seasons  ol  the 
year. 

It  may  be  useful  to  make  one  remark  here  in  be- 
half of  those  who  labour  under  the  infirmities  of  old 
age.  Warm  clothing,  more  especially  warm  bed 
clothes,  are  indispensably  necessary  to  preserve  or 
increase  the  natural  heat  of  old  people.  The  late 
Dr.  Chovet  of  Philadelphia,  who  lived  to  be  eighty- 
five,  says  Dr.  Rush,  slept  in  a  baize  night  gown,  un- 
der eight  blankets,  and  a  coverlet,  in  a  stove  room, 
many  years  before  he  died. 


75 


l>r  THE  MEANS  or  PRESERVING  HEAZiTH^ 

jelnd  of  obtaining  IiONGEVmr. 


The  human  species  are  continually  obnoxious  to 
the  shafts  of  death  in  various  forms.  Innumerable 
dangers  hang  as  by  a  hair  over  the  destinies  of  man. 
To  the  sure  ravages  of  age  are  superadded  pesti- 
lence, casualties  and  disease  as  auxiharies,  to  baffle 
the  efforts  of  human  wisdom,  and  accelerate  the 
great  work  of  mortality.  Although  tenacious  of  life 
and  its  enjoyments,  man  is  accessary  to  his  own 
premature  dissolution.  Unmindful  of  the  laws  of 
nature  and  morality,  he  yields  himself  a  votary  to  li- 
centiousness and  vice,  and  plunges  headlong  down 
the  precipice  of  destruction. 

To  impress  the  mind  forcibly  with  a  sense  of  the 
infinite  wisdom  of  the  great  Author  of  our  existence, 
we  may  contemplate  the  following  among  the  various 
astonishing  phenomena  by  which  our  being  is  per- 
petuated. 

The  heart  in  a  healthy  person,  contracts  above 
three  thousand  times  in  an  hour,  and  at  each  con- 
traction, expels  into  the  aorta  or  great  artery  two 
ounces  of  blood,  vvhirh,  according  to  Baron  Hallcr, 
is  thrown   with  a  velocity  equal  to   one  hundred  and 


76 

forty-nine  feet  in  a  minute,  and  overcomes  the  resist- 
ance of  all  the  arteries  in  the  body.  Thus  the 
quantity  of  blood  equal  to  the  whole  mass  contained 
in  the  body  passes  through  the  heart  fourteen  times 
i:i  an  hour,  which  is  about  once  every  four  minutes. 
This  wonderful  machine  never  ceases  its  alternate 
motion  of  contraction  and  relaxation  from  the  com- 
mencement to  the  termination  of  our  existence.  Its 
action  is  continued  at  the  rate  of  one  hundred  thou- 
sand strokes  every  twenty-four  hours,  overcoming  a 
great  resistance  at  every  stroke,  and  this  without 
wear  or  derangement  for  eighty  years  together  ;  nay, 
in  some  instances,  the  period  is  protracted  to  more 
than  a  century.  And  though  the  pulse  become  im- 
perceptible and  apparently  extinguished,  yet  the 
lieart  still  preserves  its  latent  power,  or  susceptibility 
of  motion,  and  needs  only  to  be  gently  excited  b^' 
suitable  means  to  revive    its  action.'^      Such  perpet- 

*  It  is  recorded  of  Ve^lltj*,  a  celebrated  professor  of  anatomy, 
and  physician  to  Charles  V.  aboi>t  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, that  a  Spanish  liobleman  who  had  been  his  patient,  was  sup- 
posed  to  have  expired.  Dissections  were  at  that  time  deemed  un- 
lawful and  even  impious.  Vesalius,  however,  had  the  address  to 
obtain  leave  to  intoect  the  body  with  the  laudable  view  of  ascer- 
*"'",ing  the  nature  of  the  disea-e.  On  opening  the  thorax,  he  was 
astonished  to  perceive  symptoms  of  life,  and  even  to  recognize  the 
pulsatory  motion  of  the  heart.  Vesalius  was  not  only  prosecuted 
for  murder,  but  that  he  might  be  punished  with  greater  rigour,  was 
arraigned  before  the  Inquisition  for  the  crime  of  impiety.  The 
king  however,  interposed  and  enveu  iiis  valanM*'  ?ife  oii  CQiulj'i'-^'i 
of  his  making  a  pilgrimage  to  the  holy  land. 


77 

ual  motion  and  friction  as  the  heart  sustains  would 
in  a  short  period,  grind  to  atoms  the  hardest  steel. — 
No  one  therefore,  can  be  surprised  that  human  life  is 
as  a  sliadow  or  a  spider's  web,  and  our  continuance 
here  extremely  precarious.  There  is,  nevertheless; 
implanted  in  the  human  breast  an  unconquerable 
abhorrence  of  death,  and  a  radical  principal,  by  which 
we  are  attached  to  this  mortal  state,  although  we  suf- 
fer pain,  and  sorrow,  and  all  the  infirmities  of  ex- 
treme old  age,  and  the  numerous  calamities  which 
afflict  mankind.  In  a  moral  point  of  view  longevity 
must  be  estimated  as  an  object  of  the  utmost  impor- 
tance, as  it  carries  man  forward  to  a  period  when 
the  violence  of  the  most  impetuous  passions  have 
subsided,  and  the  temptations  to  irregular  and  dan- 
gerous inclinations  can  have  little  influence  on  the 
heart  j  when  the  affections  of  the  soul  are  weaned 
from  this  transitory  state,  and  a  more  favourable  op- 
portunity is  afforded  of  preparing  it  for  the  enjoyment 
of  the  promised  life  everlasting.  Since  by  the  con- 
stitution of  our  nature,  we  are  solicitous  of  protrac- 
ting the  short  span,  it  becomes  both  our  duty  and  in- 
terest, to  examine  minutely  into  the  various  means 
by  which  health  and  length  of  days  may  be  obtained. 
It  is  first  to  be  remarked,  that  lo!igcvity  in  most 
instances,  is  to  be  ascribed  to  an  hereditary  dispo- 
sition, or  an  innate  principle,  dilhcult  to  be  explain- 
ed, but  which  like  many  lamily  diseases,  is  propagat- 
ed from  one  generation  to  another.       Healthy    long 


78 

liv^ed  parents,  commonly  transmit  to  their  ofi'spring 
the  same  inestimable  inheritance,  and  it  would  be 
more  frequently  enjoyed,  were  it  not  for  their  own 
habitual  irregularities,  which  so  evidently  tend  to  the 
abbreviation  of  human  life. 

A  circumstance  of  essential  importance  in  the  at- 
tainment of  longevity,  is  the  judicious  management 
and  nursing  the  buman  frame  in  the  earliest  days  of 
animal  existence,  and  great  will  be  its  infiuence, 
during  the  subsequent  periods  of  life.  The  injudi- 
cious conduct  of  some  parents,  and  nurses,  during 
infancy,  and  the  early  years  of  childhood,  too  fre- 
quently lays  the  foundation  of  those  numerous  dis- 
eases, which  at  maturer  age  arise  from  indigestion, 
and  have  in  many  families  become  hereditary. 

A  system  of  rules  most  essentially  necessary  to 
be  observed,  in  order  to  preserve  health,  and  life, 
may  be  found  in  the  observations  contained  in  the 
preceding  chapters,  on  the  six  nonnaturals  as  they 
are  termed,  and  these  have  been  so  amply  examined 
and  detailed,  that  little  remains  to  be  added,  though 
it  may  be  useful  and  proper  to  recapitulate  a  few 
particulars. 

It  will  be  found  in  many  instances  altogether  im- 
practicable to  conform  rigidly  to  all  the  salutary  rules 
above  referred  to,  but  it  may  be  remarked,  that  a 
temperate  climate,  moderate  exercise,  pure  country 
air,  clothing  adapted  to  the  season  and  vicissitudes 
of  weather,  a  strict  regard  to   temperance,  together 


7# 

\\\[]\  a  prudent  regulation  of  the  passions,  will  prove 
the  most  efficacious  in  protracting  life  to  its  utmost 
limits.  All  extremes  should  be  avoided,  as  unfriend- 
ly to  health  and  longevity.  Excessive  heat  ener- 
vates the  body  ;  extreme  cold  renders  it  torpid  :  in- 
dolence and  inactivity  tend  to  clog  the  necessary 
movements  of  the  machine,  and  incessant  labour  soon 
wears  down  the  springs  of  life.  Another  essential 
circumstance  to  be  regarded  by  those  who  are  can- 
didates for  long  life,  Is  the  choice  of  a  particular  sit- 
uation for  residence  ;  it  should  be  elevated  and  dry, 
open  to  a  free  ventilation  by  the  winds,  at  a  proper 
distance  from  low  swampy  ground,  or  stagnant  wa- 
ters, and  where  a  dry  and  salubrious  air  can  be  en- 
joyed, and  if  near  the  sea  shore,  the  situation  will 
probably  be  still  more  heaUliful. 

The  most  efficacious  means  of  preventing  diseases^ 
and  prolonging  life,  are  those  most  nearly  connected 
with  the  moral  virtues.  A  course  of  licentiousness, 
intemj)erance,  and  voluptuousness,  has  a  direct  ten- 
dency to  undermine  the  constitution,  to  generate  dis- 
eases, and  to  shorten  the  duration  of  life.  The  ha- 
bitual indulgence  of  a  lascivious  disposition,  and  a 
oromiscuous  sexual  intercourse,  esper  ially  in  persons 
not  arrived  at  the  age  of  maturity,  seldom  fail  to  ex- 
haust the  vital  energy,  to  enervate  the  system,  and 
lay  a  foundation  for  imbcciliiy,  and  numerous  dis*^ 
p;\ses. 


80 

The  absurd  idea  was  in  former  times  prevalent, 
that  blood   letting,  at  certain  seasons,  is   useful  and 
necessary  to  the  prolongation  of  human  life.     It  was 
even  supposed  by  many,  that   the   impurities  of  the 
blood  may  be   drawn  off,   and  the    remainder  of  the 
mass,  thereby  rendered    more   pure,  but  this  ridicu- 
lous fancy,  finds  no  countenance  in  modern   times  ; 
on  the  contrary  it  is  a  well  estabhshed  principle,  that 
blood  letting  is  never  requisite,  but  often  detrimental 
to  those   who  are   in  health.     Experience  has  long 
since  determined  the  fact,  that  persons  habituated  to 
the  loss  of  blood  from  the  system  at  certain  seasons, 
cannot  relinquish  the  practice  without  incurring  dan- 
ger of  the  most  serious  consequences.   Still  more  pre- 
posterous, were  the  schemes  of  Paracelsus,  and  his 
contemporaries,  who  fabricated  numerous  nostrums, 
and  arcanums,  the  efficacy  of  which  they  highly  ex- 
toiled  for  the  procurement  even  of  antideluvian  lon- 
gevity.    This  celebrated  insurer  of  the  lives  of  others, 
became  himself  a  victim  to  death  before  his  50th 
year,    leaving   his   deluded  survivors,  under  the  sad 
conviction,  that  all  their  art,  the  offspring   of  super- 
stition and  imposlui'e,   is  inadequate  to  the  purchase 
of  health  and  long  hfe,  but  that  both  may  be  barter- 
ed, and  trifled  away,  for  pernicious  enjoyments. 

The  plain  diet,  and  the  employments  of  a  country 
life,  are  highly  conducive  to  health  and  longevity  ; 
while  the  luxury  and  refinements  of  large  cities,  are 
equally  destructive  to  the  Inmiao  species.     In  proof 


81 

of  this  assertion,  let  the  comparison  be  made  between 
the  sedentary,  and  dehcate  youths,  of  both  sexes  in 
populous  seaport  towns,  and  the  athletic,  robust  la- 
bourers, who  spend  their  days  on  farms  in  the  coun- 
try, and  are  constantly  active  in  walking,  riding,  and 
other  exercise  so  essentially  necessary  to  expand  the 
chest,  to  strengthen  the  lungs,  and  invigorate  the 
system.  INIuch  depends  on  wholesome  diet  for  the 
preservation  of  health,  and  consequently  for  the  at- 
tainment of  long  life.  It  is  however,  not  absolutely- 
necessary  to  conform  strictly  to  certain  rules  and 
forms  in  this  article.  A  proper  mixture  of  animal 
and  vegetable  food,  appears  to  be  the  best  calculated 
to  subserve  the  purposes  of  nature,  and  in  general 
the  most  congenial  to  the  human  constitution.  Sut  h 
however,  is  ll-e  diversity  ci  Constitutions,  snd  ^»K'h 
the  intluence  of  custom  and  habit,  that  the  same 
mode  of  living,  which  in  one  individual,  is  happily 
adapted,  would  in  another  prove  extremely  detri- 
mental. The  term  wholesome,  as  applied  to  food, 
is  to  be  understood  in  a  relative  sense,  and  the  ap- 
plication in  each  individual  instance  must  be  deter- 
mined by  experience  and  observation. 

The  nauseous  and  disgusting  practice  of  chewing 
or  smoking  tobacco,  is  in  many  constitutions  produc- 
tive of  unfavourable  consecjuences  ;  it  is  partictda;  ly 
prejudicial  to  persons  of  weak  digestion,  or  delicate 
habits,  and  to  those  who  are  jnedisposed  to  consump- 
rive  complaints.     In  every  instance  where  the  use  of 


82 

tobacco  produces  an  uncommon  discharge  of  saliva^ 
(that  fluid  so  necessary  in  the  process  of  digestion,) 
its  narcotic  effects  are  more  powerfully  exerted,  by 
which  the  tone  of  the  stomach  is  weakened,  and 
every  kind  of  dyspeptic  symptoms  are  produced. 

The  employment  of  cosmetics  for  the  purpose  of 
beautifying  the  skin,  which  was  more  fashionable 
formerly  than  at  the  present  day  among  a  certain 
class  of  females,  is  to  be  reprobated  as  extremely 
prejudicial  to  health.  Most  of  the  articles  of  this 
description,  which  have  been  obtruded  on  the  pubhc 
attention,  consist  of  pernicious  metalic  ingredients, 
such  as  the  preparations  of  lead,  and  other  delete- 
rious poisons,  the  application  of  which  to  the  skin,  is 
in  the  highest  degree  injurious  to  the  genuine  com-- 
piexion  which  they  affect  to  improve.  These  appli- 
cations are  likewise  no  less  prejudicial  to  the  health  ; 
and  when  the  painting  is  extended  over  the  surface 
of  the  breast,  it  has  in  some  instances  been  found  to 
prove  even  fatal,  by  repelling  the  humours,  and  com- 
municating their  poisonous  qualities  to  the  lungs,  and 
other  vital  parts. 

It  appears  from  observation  founded  on  expe- 
rience, that  if  we  can  pass  a  certain  period  of  life  in 
the  fulness  of  health  and  vigour,  the  probability  is 
greatly  in  favor  of  hving  to  a  considerable  age. — 
This  critical  period,  is  supposed  to  be  in  most  con- 
stitutions, about  the  G3d  year,  and  it  is  a  just  obser- 
vation,  that  the   human   constitution  begins  at  that 


83 

'time,  if  not  sooner,  to  experience  a   rapid  decay  of 
strength  and  energy. 

The  habit  of  etirly  rising  from  bed,  daily  exercise, 
or  moderate  labour,  are  among  the  salutary  means  to 
be  recommended  for  the  preservation  of  health,  and 
the  prolonging  of  life.  It  has  been  asserted  that  in 
every  instance  of  remarkable  longevity,  the  person 
had  been  from  his  youth  accustomed  to  early  rising. 
Uniformity  in  the  state  of  the  atmosphere,  particu- 
larly in  regard  to  heat  and  cold,  the  avoidance  of 
close  hot  rooms,  the  keeping  the  feet  warm  and  dry, 
all  contribute  in  a  considerable  degree  to  the  enjoy- 
ment of  health  and  the  duration  of  hfe.  These  with 
moderation  in  every  thing  that  relates  to  both  body 
and  mind,  a  rigid  adherence  to  the  habits  of  virtue, 
and  in  every  vicissitude  to  endeavour  as  much  as  pos- 
sible to  preserve  a  calm  and  tranquil  state  of  mind, 
constitute  the  means  of  greatest  efficacy  for  the  at- 
tainment of  that  healthy  condition  which  is  the  most 
favourable  to  a  happy  longevity. 


84 


ON  BilTHIir«  A372>  SWIMMimG* 


Were  I  to  collect  encomiums  on  bathing,  that 
have  been  published  by  writers  on  physic,  philoso- 
phy and  education,  I  shouW  fill  a  considerable  vol- 
ume. It  is  remarkable,  that  all,  without  exception, 
recommend  it :  but  more  singular,  that  httle  or  no 
attention  is  paid  to  it  almost  every  where.  The  ex- 
perience of  ages  has  taught  us,  that  the  cold  bath  is 
astonishingly  conducive  to  health  ;  the  example  of 
the  ancients,  who  had  a  bath  in  almost  every  house, 
or  at  least  frequented  the  public  baths  ;  the  religious 
use  of  the  bath  among  the  Jews  and  Mahommedans, 
an  use  founded  on  sound  policy  ;  the  practice  of  our 
ancestors,  who  rendered  their  new  born  infants  har- 
dy in  plunging  them  into  the  cold  brook  ;  the  almost 
universal  habit  of  bathing  in  rude  and  half  civilized 
nations,  to  whom  we  are  far  inferiour  in  bodily 
strength  and  health  ;  and  the  concordant  testimonies 
of  ancient  and  modern  physicians  in  recommenda- 
tion of  the  bath  ;  all  should  excite  us,  to  pursue  the 
beneficial  practice.  But  unfortunately  our  prejudi- 
ces have  almost  estabhshed  it  as  a  law  of  decorum, 
to  refrain  from  bathing,  because,  as  we  have  no  pub- 


85 

lie  buildings  for  the  purpose,  the  bather  must  strip 
himself  in  the  open  air  :  unless  at  a  few  places  of 
public  resort,  where  it  is  tolerated  for  its  medicinal 
usos,  yet  of  which  scarcely  any  but  the  wealthy  and 
idle  can  avail  themselves.  Thus  we  carry  about  us 
ail  our  lives  a  coat  of  dirt,  the  very  idea  of  which  is 
sufficient  to  excite  disgust,  and,  in  the  words  of 
Frank,  from  which,  as  from  the  annual  circles  of  a 
tree,  a  man's  age  might  be  lold. 

Is  not  this  universal  want  of  cleanliness,  with  re- 
gard to  all  parts  that  are  not  immediately  exposed  to 
view,  intolerable  ?  Does  it  appear  credible,  that  it 
should  exist  in  a  civilized  nation,  where  it  is  deemed 
a  disgrace  to  wear  dirty  clothes  ?  Surely,  to  cover 
with  clean  garments  the  filth,  which  adheres  to  the 
whole  surface  of  the  body,  displays  little  of  the  true 
spirit  of  cleanliness. 

Unzer  says  of  people,  who  indulge  in  dirt  out  of 
affectation,  that  they  deserve  to  be  treated  as  ob- 
jects of  general  contempt.  In  my  opinion,  the  gen- 
eral custom  of  leaving  th^  greater  part  of  the  bo<iy 
unwashed  from  the  f  radle  to  the  grave  merits  it  m 
an  equal  degree.  At  least  let  us  not  divulge  this  to 
the  unpolished  inhabitants  of  the  Pelew  Islands,  who 
every  morning,  at  sunrise,  lave  their  bodies  in  tiiat 
elcnijul,  which  was  not  forineu  for  the  fish  alone  ; 
for  they  would  despise  us. 

Anotiier  consequence  of  neglect  of  bathing  is,  that 
it  affects  the  health,  which  cannot  be  preserved  with- 
8 


86 

out  perfect  cleanliness.  Our  body,  while  we  are  in 
health,  is  constantly  perspiring  a  viscous  fluid,  which 
adheres  to  the  skin,  and,  on  those  parts  that  are  un- 
covered, unites  with  the  dust  and  dirt  floating  in  the 
air,  so  as  to  begrime  the  face,  neck,  and  hands. — 
Hence  we  are  obhged  frequently  to  wash  these  parts. 
But  those  parts  of  the  body,  which  are  covered, 
commonly  perspire  most ;  our  clothes  cannot  entirely 
keep  off  the  dust,  which  gradually  insinuates  itself 
through  and  between  them  ;  and  besides,  from  the 
continual  motion  and  friction,  to  which  our  clothes 
are  exposed,  fine  particles  are  ever  wearing  off  from 
them,  and  increase  the  quantity  of  dust,  that  unites 
with  the  perspirable  fluid,  and  thus  form  a  crust 
over  the  whole  body.  Thus  washing  the  covered 
parts  is  at  least  equally  necessary ;  and  the  most 
commodious  way  of  doing  this  is  the  bath. 

We  need  insist  on  nothing  more,  than  the  obstruc- 
tion of  perspiration,  necessarily  consequent  to  a  neg- 
lect of  this.  Every  one  knows  the  bad  effects  of 
this  obstruction  ;  colds,  coughs,  tooth-ach,  head-ach, 
rheumatic  pains,  sore  throat,  inflammation  of  the 
eyes,  cutaneous  diseases  of  different  kinds,  he.  We 
are  now  accustomed  to  these  complaints,  and  fancy 
they  are  incident  to  our  nature  ;  while  scarcely  any 
one  thinks  of  ascribing  them  to  that  want  of  cleanli- 
ness, which  generally  prevails,  and  to  which,  in 
great  measure  at  least,  they  are  owing.  It  is  indeed 
clear,  that  many  of  our  diseases  arise  from  our  neg 


87 

lect  of  cleaning  the  skin,  and  the  obstruction  of  per- 
spiration thence  ensuing  :  consequently  a  considera- 
ble portion  of  human  misery  might  be  prevented, 
were  the  practice  of  bathing  introduced  into  private 
families,  and  encouraged  by  public  accommoda- 
tions. 

When  an  individual  has  apparently  lost  his  Hfe  by 
drowning,  intense  cold,  or  noxious  vapours,  we  think- 
highly  of  his  restoration,  and  not  without  reason. — 
Institutions  for  the  recovery  of  such  of  our  uniortu- 
nate  fellow  creatures  are  estabhshed  in  various  pla- 
ces, and  instructions  for  the  purpose  are  liberally  dis- 
persed. Let  us  then  act  consistently.  Surely  to 
secure  the  health  of  millions  is  of  far  greater  impor- 
tance, than  to  recall  to  life  a  few  individuals,  to  some 
of  whom  the  boon  may  be  little  worth  acceptance. 

For  my  part,  I  consider  the  cold  bath  as  an  essen- 
tial object  in  a  good  physical  education  ;  and  a  batli- 
ing  place,  as  an  indispensable  appendage  to  a  public 
school.  A  particular  building,  for  the  purpose,  how- 
ever, is  unnecessary  ;  a  safe,  retired  spot  appears  to 
me  sufficient.  V/ere  children  permitted  to  bathe  In 
such  a  place  under  proper  inspection,  they  would 
have  no  temptation,  to  evade  the  father's  eye,  and  fill 
the  mother's  heart  with  alarm.  How  many  promis- 
ing youths  are  annually  lost  to  their  country,  merely 
from  the  want  of  such  institutions  ! 

No  doubt  I  shall  have  many  ready  to  start  objec- 
tions here  :  such   as,    bathing    is   not    every   where 


86 

practicable,  because  water  is  wanting  :  who  will  take 
upon  himself  the  charge  of  superintendance?  who  will 
defray  the  expense  of  bathing  dresses  ?  These  and 
similar  objections  only  show,  that  men  do  not  take 
up  the  matter  in  earnest,  and  consider  education  pro- 
perly so  called,  as  far  as  tuition  is  out  of  the  question, 
with  an  indiiFerence  little  to  their  honour. 

The  advantage,  which  youth  would  derive  from 
t])e  cold  bath,  is  not  difficult  to  comprehend.  I  say- 
expressly  the  cold  bath  :  for  I  v/ould  not  employ  for 
the  purpose  the  water  warmed  by  the  sun  of  a  sum- 
mer afternoon  but  the  much  cooler  stream  of  the 
early  morning.  This  braces  ever}^  muscle,  and 
every  nerve  ;  imparts  to  the  body  a  powerful  capac- 
ity of  supporting  cold  ;  steels  the  skin,  on  the  tensity 
or  laxness  of  which  so  much  depends,  against  the  in- 
fluence of  the  air,  and  renders  it  fit  for  the  exercise 
of  its  natural  function,  perspiration  ;  refreshes  the 
whole  system  ;  gives  alertness  to  the  body,  and  ani- 
mation to  the  spirits ;  and  is  particularly  serviceable 
for  coohng  the  blood  in  the  heat  of  summer. 

Still  there  may  be  timid  parents,  who  will  be  ap- 
prehensive of  colds,  coughs  and  other  diseases,  from 
the  cold  bath.  To  these  I  shall  offer  the  result  of  my 
own  experience.  I  have  now  for  several  years  seen 
about  thirty  young  persons  in  the  habit  of  bathing, 
not  in  summer  merely,  but  through  the  whole  of  au- 
tumn, till  winter ;  in  the  most  sultry  weather,  in 
showers  of  rain,  and  on  cold  days,  when  the  ground 


89 

was  covered  thick  with  rime,  and  the  puddles  of  wa- 
ter were  frozen  over  ;  once  indeed  a  little  before 
Christinas,  on  a  sudden  thaw,  in  a  pond  were  the  ice 
was  an  incli  tliick,  through  which  the  bathers  broke  a 
hole  in  the  middle  with  a  large  stick,  while  what  re- 
mained around  it  was  strong  enough  to  bear  thern, 
and  another  time  in  a  deep  collection  of  snow-water, 
both  at  their  urgent  intreaty.*  Brought  up  myself 
too  tenderly,  and  not  early  emancipated  from  the 
prejudices  thus  imbibed,  I  have  paid  strict  attention 
to  the  subject ;  and  to  the  question,  '  is  such  a  prac- 
tice free  from  danger  ?'  Experience  has  uniformly 
answered  me,  with  very  few  modifications,  '  it  is  not 
only  free  from  danger,  but  beneficial  to  the  health.' — 
So  far  from  either  cold,  or  cough,  or  any  other  dis- 
order ensuing  from  it  ;  I  have  found,  that  those,  who 
adopted  this  powerful  preservative  of  health,  scarcely 
knew  the  meaning  of  catching  cold,  which  most  peo- 
ple dread  like  the  plague. 

Among  us  Germans,  or  rather  among  us  polished  Eu- 
ropeans, instances  of  this  kind  are  very  rare.  AVe  hear 
with  astonishment  of  the  Russian,  who  runs  reeking 
from  his  stove,  to  bathe  himself  in  the  snow,  and  as- 
cribe this  to  his  hard  and  savage  nature.  But  to  be 
healthy  ;  is  not  to  be  savage  ;  and  health  is  far  more 
to  be  {)rized,  than  all  effeminate  refinement,  than  all 

*    'I  his   very    day,    the   19th  of  February,  1799,  there  are  four 
boys  bathing  thein-eJves  in  a  pond  of  snow-water,  in  a  field  beliin*! 
my  hou^e,  which  UhI  week  was  covered  with  ukaiern.—  I". 
8* 


90 

the  polish  of  taste.     Of  memorable  examples  I  shall 
quote  just  one  more. 

Oil  the  8th  of  August,  1791,  a  little  girl  was  born 
at  Schnepfenthal.  Her  father  named  her  Thusnelda 
Gertrude.  She  was  a  lively  little  thing.  When  she 
was  six  or  seven  days  old,  he  bathed  her  in  a  cold 
spring,  and  repeated  this  every  second  or  third  day. 
Before  this  she  had  constantly  respired  the  pure  and 
cool  air,  often  been  exposed  to  it  naked,  and  fre- 
quently washed  with  cold  water.  From  the  first  the 
child  regarded  it  but  little  ;  for  the  feeling  of  infants 
is  not  very  acute,  and  still  less  unstrung  to  nervous 
debility  :  though  she  cried  sometimes.  By  degrees, 
however,  it  became  so  habitual,  that  she  seldom  ut- 
tered a  single  cry.  The  weather  grew  cold,  winter 
came,  and  the  water  was  often  covered  with  ice  ; 
yet  Thusnelda  bore  it  very  welL  In  the  mean  time 
she  was  often  carried  out  half  or  quite  naked,  in 
wind,  and  rain,  and  snow.  Pardon  me  tender  moth- 
ers, ever  in  anxiety  for  your  darlings,  if  I  here  set 
before  you  an  example,  which  has  the  appearance  of 
being  borrowed  from  the  true  ancient  Germans,  and 
is  so  diametrically  opposite  to  your  principles  of  phy- 
sical education.  Thusnelda  enjoyed  such  uninter- 
rupted plenitude  of  health,  and  such  strength  of  bo- 
dy, as  I  scarcely  ever  observed  in  a  child  of  her  age. 
Often  have  I  thought,  as  1  beheld  her,  our  sturdy 
forefathers  were  in  the  right,  to  bring  up  their  child- 
ren hardily  ;  for,  according  to  all  appearance,  hardy 
treatment  is  the  only  true  way  to  health. 


91 

Accordingly,  we  choose  a  convenient  place  in  the 
neighboring  river,  lor  ponds  are  not  so  agreeable. — 
The  banks  are  skreened  by  bushes.  The  depth 
with  whi.  h  we  are  well  acquainted,  is  not  too  great, 
yet  sufficient  to  admit  of  diving;  and  the  current  is 
gentle.  The  bank  is  perpendicular,  and  a  few  feet 
hie;h,  so  as  to  afford  a  commodious  situation  for  leap- 
ins  into  the  water.  We  undress  ourselves  singly  be- 
hind the  bushes,  and  put  on  a  pair  of  linen  drawers, 
reachins  only  half  way  down  the  thigh.  We  are  not 
afraid  of  disordering  our  hair,  for  it  is  merely  comb- 
ed in  the  simplest  manner.  The  following  rules 
are  deduced  from  my  own  experience  with  young 
persons. 

1.  A  gradual  progress  should  be  observed.  Be- 
ginners should  be  first  taken  to  bathe  in  the  latter 
part  of  a  hot  summer  afternoon,  because  the  water 
is  then  warmest.     But, 

2.  The  best  time  for  bathing  is  the  morning  ;  very 
early,  if  possible  ;  but  on  no  account  just  after  a 
meal. 

3.  The  master  will  never  suffer  his  pupils  to  go 
into  the  water  when  they  are  hot,  but  takes  care, 
that  they  suffer  themselves  to  grow  cool  first.  This 
he  can  as(;ertain  by  examining  their  armpits. 

4.  It  is  most  eligible,  to  leap  into  the  water,  and 
plunge  the  whole  body  under  it  instantly.  They 
who  cannot  do  this,  may  throw  the  water  over  their 
heads  with  both  hands.       Divine;,  however,  requires 


92 

but  little  previous  exercise  ;  merely  that  of  dipping 
the  head  frequently,  and  then  crawling  along  under 
the  water.  When  a  person  has  acquired  a  Jacility 
at  this,  he  will  soon  be  able  to  move  himself  under 
water  at  pleasure,  and  in  a  very  little  time  will  learn  to 
leap  into  the  water  head  foremost,  and  dart  away 
like  a  fish. 

5.  Five  or  ten  minutes  are  sufncient  to  refresh 
the  body,  and  strengthen  the  nerves.  A  pair  of 
worsted  gloves,  or  a  piece  of  flannel,  should  be  used 
to  rub  the  skin,  which  will  then  be  cleansed  and  in- 
vigorated. 

6.  I  do  not  think  it  necessary  to  refrain  from  bath- 
ing on  account  of  a  cold,  or  cough  ;  but  such  a  case 
w^ill  seldom  occur,  for  young  persons,  who  are  in  the 
habit  of  using  the  cold  bath,  seldom  know  any  thing 
of  these  complaints,  if  their  way  of  life  be  in  other 
respects  answerable  to  this  practice.* 

7.  Every  person,  who  bathes,  should  wipe  him- 
self dry  as  soon  as  he  gets  out  of  the  water,  and 
dress  himself  speedily.  A  little  exercise  after  it  is 
beneficial  :  if  the  bathing  place  be  a  quarter  an  hour's 
walk  from  the  house,  the  returning  home  is  suffi- 
cient. 

These  few  simple  rules,  according  to  ray  expe- 
rience, are  quite  sufficient. 

*  I  can  aver,  that  I  have  often  found  washing  the  whole  of  the 
upper  part  of  the  body,  neck,  arms  and  shoalders,  with  very  cold 
water,  of  excellent  use  in  catarrhal  complaints,  and  have  cured  a 
hoarseness  by  this  method. 


93 

But  the  summer  passes  awav,  and  autumn  arrives. 
No  matter  :  time  and  practice  create  habit.  I  have 
adduced  instances  above,  and  I  can  enga^fe,  that 
any  boy,  even  though  of  a  dehcate  constitution,  will 
not  only  be  able  to  persevere  without  difficulty,  if 
he  bathe  constantly  every  two  or  three  days,  but 
will  find  it  conduce  greatly  to  fortify  his  health,  and 
strengthen  his  body. 

For  such  of  my  readers,  as  are  convinced  of  the 
salubrity  of  this  physical  treatment,  I  do  not  mean  to 
exclude  the  winter.  I  am  persuaded,  that  we  may 
bathe  in  the  open  air  at  all  seasons  :*  but  I  would 
not  require  too  much.  May  all  parents  have  this 
regard  for  the  health  of  their  children,  to  let  them 
bathe  at  least  once  every  week  :  water  and  a  bath- 
hig  tub  cost  much  less,  than  the  medicine  that  will 
be  saved  in  general  by  the  practice. 

In  all  well  regulated  societies,  bathing  houses,  for 
the  sake  of  health  and  cleanhness,  are  indispensable 
in  every  town,  and  every  village.  A  clean,  firm, 
undebilitatcd  skin,  is  requisite  to  health  ;  and  this  is 
best  preserved  by  bathing.  How  desirable  then 
must  it  be  to  the  poor  and  labouring  class  to  have  it 
in  their  power,  to  frequent  a  cold  bath  at  little  cost, 
or  which  is  still  better,  at  the  public  expense  ! 

From  bathing  to  swimming  the  transition  is  easy. 
Our  pupils  shall  be  kept  diligently  to   their  bathing, 

*  Poor  Jewesses,  \\h  cannot  afi'o  U  a  bath  in  fh«ir  own  houses, 
break  the  ice  to  '^nt  into  a  pond  era  rive;-,  and  return  home  through 
frost  and  buow,  wiUbout  injury. 


94 

that  tbey  may  learn  to  swim  in  the  mean  time.  To 
be  able  to  preserve  the  life  of  a  fellow  creature  is 
surely  a  matter  of  exquisite  delight  :  but  what  avail 
injunctions,  excitements,  or  public  rewards,  for  res- 
cuing a  man  from  a  watery  grave  ;  or  what  the 
strong  impulse  of  our  own  humanity  ;  when  we  are 
obliged  to  run  about  in  quest  of  that  assistance, 
which  we  do  not  possess  in  our  own  facuhies  f  Nay, 
if  it  were  possible,  that  we  could  regard  our  own 
safety  alone,  the  utility  of  the  art  is  too  obvious,  to 
need  farther  recommendation. 

The  Athenians,  when  they  would  express  the 
idea  of  a  man's  knowing  nothing,  and  being  fit  for 
nothing,  used  to  say,  that  he  could  neither  read  nor 
swim.  All  beasts  can  swim  :  therefore  swimming  is 
no  art,  but  a  natural  faculty  of  the  animal  body, 
which  the  Creator  bestowed  on  it,  because  he  knew 
it  must  be  perpetually  exposed  to  tiie  danger  of  fall- 
ing into  an  element  so  generally  abundant.  Man 
only,  or  rather  the  polished  European,  cannot;  part- 
ly because  it  never  enters  into  his  mind  to  attempt  it, 
partly  because  the  natural  faculty  is  more  or  less  de- 
stroyed by  the  physical  treatment  of  his  youth.  This 
is  a  serious  charge,  because  it  includes  with  the  an- 
nihilation of  this  faculty  a  number  of  diseases  of  the 
thorax,  by  which  multitudes  are  sent  to  the  grave. 

Scarcely  is  the  infant  come  into  the  world,  when 
his  chest  is  compressed.  This  vile  fashion  does  not 
cease  here ;  our   usual  dress,   fastened   across   the 


95 

breast,  is  a  continuation  of  it.  In  this  do  we  not  act 
diametrically  opposite  to  nature  ?  She  would  have 
our  body  obey  its  innate  propensities  to  enlarsje  :  but 
we  confine  it  by  our  clothinc;.  The  breast-bone  and 
ribs  are  at  first  mere  cartillages,  and  should  extend 
with  the  growth  :  the  increasing  lungs  should  contri- 
bute to  this  by  the  act  of  respiration,  enlarge  the  cav- 
ities of  the  thorax,  and  assist  in  forming  that  beauti- 
ful arched  chest,  which  is  commonly  observed  in 
strong  persons.  But  ilils  we  counteract,  and  acquire 
a  form  very  different  from  that  of  the  son  of  Nature. 
The  diminution  of  the  chest  in  consequence  is  tlje 
occasion  of  many  diseases  of  the  thorax,  as  well  as 
of  greater  difficulty  in  acquiring  the  art  of  swimming. 
Practice  must  supply  what  we  have  lost,  and  to  this 
I  now  proceed. 

I  cannot  here  omit  the  testimony  of  Dr.  Franklin, 
who  was  an  excellent  swimmer,  as  is  given  in  the 
words  of  Campe.  '  Nothing,  in  fact,'  says  the  latter, 
*  can  be  easier  than  learning  to  swim.  Little  more 
is  necessary,  than  the  persuasion,  that  you  can  swim 
if  you  will.  This  I  was  taught  by  the  celebrated 
Franklin,  see  his  letters,  when  I  was  six  and  ihiriy 
years  old.  On  this  authority  I  made  the  trial  and 
succeeded.  He  says,  "All  men  can  swim,  as  well 
as  all  beasts  :  nothing  more  is  requisite,  than  to 
have  the  courage  to  put  yourself  into  a  proper  posi- 
tion, and  make  the  same  inolions  with  your  hands 
and  feet  as  you  see  the  frogs.      But  this  couiageyou 


96 

will  not  have,  till  you  have  found  by  experience,  that 
you  can  keep  yourself  afloat  in  this  manner.  To 
make  this  experiment,  walk  into  the  water,  where  it 
deepens  gradually,  till  you  are  up  to  your  middle, 
and  turn  about  your  face  to  the  shore.  In  this  situa- 
tion, you  will  not  be  afraid  to  throw  yourself  for- 
wards, and  imitate  the  known  motions  of  swimming, 
because  you  are  certain,  that  you  can  soon  reach  the 
ground,  and  raise  yourself  up  whenever  you  please. 
Thus  you  will  soon  find,  that  water  has  the  power  of 
supporting  you  :  you  repeat  the  trial,  and  every  time 
yonr  confidence  increases  :  you  gradually  venture 
farther  and  farther  from  the  shore,  and  thus  the 
swiihmer  is  formed." 

For  my  part,  f  was  taught  to  swim  by  Christian 
Augustus  Wolf,  of  Halle,  who  travels  about  as  a 
professor  of  the  art,  and  shall  deliver  what  I  learned 
from  him,  and  our  practice  here. 

1.  The  learner  should  be  accustomed  frequently 
to  plunge  the  whole  of  his  head  under  water.  At 
first  this  gives  a  kind  of  stunning  sensation  ;  for 
which  reason  it  is  very  necessary,  to  be  perfectly  fa- 
miliarized to  it,  us  in  Hrst  learning  to  swim  it  will 
unavoidably  occur.  But  it  should  be  carried  far- 
ther :  the  learner  -hould  try  to  swim  under  water, 
and  keep  himself  i;:ider  as  long  as  possible.*     With 

*  This  I  can  strongly  recommend  J  ommy  own  experience  ;  and 
I  will  add,  that  when  once  a  person  eta  move  his  limbs  with  facili- 
ty, slowly  and  regularly,  under  the  wa^er,  which  requires  nothing 


97 

this  view  I  have  found  it  very  advantageous,  to  draw 
as  much  air  into  the  lungs  as  possible  immediately 
before  diving  and  let  it  out  again  slowly  under 
water. 

2.  If  the  water  reach  a  little  above  the  hips,  it  is 
deep  enough  for  swimming.  The  whole  of  the 
place  intended  for  bathing  should  be  accurately  ex- 
amined ;  and  it  would  not  be  amiss,  to  drive  in 
stakes  as  a  warning  against  deeper  places. 

3.  It  is  hkewise  necessary,  to  have  a  guide,  who, 
if  he  cannot  swim,  is  not  afraid  of  the  water,  and 
may  support  beginners  with  his  hand,  placing  it  un- 
der their  belly  opposite  the  short  ribs,  that  they  may 
learn  to  move  their  legs  and  arms  without  fear  of 
sinking. 

4.  When  the  learner  has  acquired  some  expert- 

but  coolness  and  resolution,  all  that  is  necessary  for  him  is.  to  hold 
his  head  back,  so  as  to  bring  his  face  nearly  as  perpendicular  to  the 
horizon,  and  in  striking  his  hands  forward,  to  carry  them  as  near  as 
may  be  to  the  surface,  without  raising  them  out  of  the  water;  when 
he  will  find,  that  he  can  swim.  At  first,  it  is  true,  he  will  be  able 
to  swim  perhaps  but  a  very  little  way  :  but  let  him  not  be  discour- 
aged at  this,  all  unusual  motions  are  at  first  difficult  and  laborious, 
but  pi-actice  soon  renders  them  easy.  ISTo-jt  beginners  exhaust 
themselves  by  striking  very  quickly,  in  order  to  prevent  their  sink- 
ing: but  let  them  confide  in  the  buoyancy  of  the  water,  of  which 
tliey  may  e^>^ily  be  convinced  by  their  own  experience,  and  by  re- 
flection on  its  specific  <rravity,  which  i^  in  general  somewhat  more 
th;tn  thai  of  their  own  bodies  ;  and  remember,  that  the  more  slowly 
tiicv  move  their  limlin,  the  less  they  will  fatigue  them,  and  the  les* 
!ial)lfc  they  will  be  to  move  then>  improperly. — T. 

9 


98 

iiess  at  this,  and  the  guide  feels,  that  he  bears  less 
upon  his  hand,  a  cord  should  be  fastened  to  a  belt 
passing  round  the  body  at  the  armpits,  and  while  the 
guide  has  hold  of  the  end  of  this,  he  should  go  on 
till  the  water  is  up  to  his  neck,  or  even  till  he  is  out 
of  his  depth.  Here  he  will  exert  his  powers,  and 
commonly  learn  to  swim  in  a  short  time.  I  have 
seen  ten  or  a  dozen  boys,  who  had  practised  swim- 
ming with  the  support  of  the  guide's  hand  for  some 
months,  or  even  years,  to  no  purpose,  who  were  thus 
rendered  swimmers  in  a  few  lessons. 

5.  In  swimming  on  the  belly  the  body  hes  in  an 
inclined  position,  the  feet  being  deepest,  and  the 
head  being  thrown  back,  so  that  the  chin  is  above 
the  water,  while  the  eyes  look  forward  along  its  sur- 
face, not  down  into  it.  Neither  the  hands  nor  feet 
should  come  out  of  the  water.  The  fingers  and 
thumb  of  each  hand  being  close  together,  and  the 
elbows  bent,  the  two  thumbs  should  be  brought  into 
contact,  or  the  hands  laid  one  upon  the  other,  and 
thus,  keeping  the  surfaces  in  a  horizontal  position, 
they  should  be  thrust  forward  as  near  the  surface  of 
the  water  as  possible,  till  the  arms  are  extended  in  a 
straight  line.  At  this  point  the  hands  should  be 
turned  so  as  to  be  nearly  perpendicular  to  the  plane 
of  the  horizon,  the  thumbs  being  downward,  and  the 
fingers  being  very  slightly  bent  so  as  for  the  inside 
of  the  hand  to  form  a  trifling  hollow  ;  and  in  this 
manner  they  should  be  moved  in  a  curve  first  out- 


99 

wards  and  then  backwards.  While  the  hands  are 
pushed  forwards,  the  heels  are  to  be  drawn  up  to- 
wards the  buttocks,  either  keeping  them  close  to- 
gether, or  which  is  the  practice  of  the  best  swimmers, 
crossing  the  legs  at  the  small  ;  and  while  the  hands 
are  moving  outwards  and  backwards,  the  feet  should 
be  moved  outwards  and  backwards  likewise,  the 
soles  pushing  against  the  water,  till  the  legs  are 
brought  close  together  in  an  extended  position, 
which  finishes  the  stroke.  The  same  proceeding  is 
to  be  repeated,  as  often  as  you  please  ;  taking  care, 
that  the  hands  and  feet  move  regularly,  slowly,  and 
at  the  same  time  :  by  the  first  their  effect  will  be 
more  uniform  ;  by  the  second,  less  fatiguing  ;  and 
by  the  third,  more  forcible. 

6.  In  swimming  on  the  back  likewise  the  body  is 
in  a  shghtly  inclined  position,  the  feet  being  lower 
than  the  head,  and  the  face  alone  being  above  the 
water.  The  arms  being  laid  along  close  by  the 
sides,  to  increase  the  surface  of  the  body,  the  knees 
are  to  be  drawn  up  till  they  make  a  right  angle  with 
the  body,  keeping  them  close  together  so  that  they 
will  appear  above  the  water.  This  is  the  prepara- 
tion for  the  stroke,  which  is  to  be  given  by  separat- 
ing them  from  each  other,  and  pushing  against  the 
water  with  the  soles  of  the  feet,  in  the  same  manner 
as  in  swimming  upon  the  belly. 

This  mode  of  swimming  is  very  commodious  when 
the  swimmer  begins  to  be  fatigued,  as  the  arms    are 


100 

perfectly  at  rest,  and  a  considerable  interval  may  be 
allowed  between  the  strokes  with  the  feet,  as  the  bo- 
dy remains  suspended  in  this  posture  for  some  time, 
the  feet  sinking  very  gradually. 

If  you  want  to  rest  the  legs,  you  may  keep  your- 
self afloat,  by  laying  on  the  back  as  nearly  as  possi- 
ble in  a  horizontal  position,  and  moving  the  hands  on 
each  side  in  very  short  but  pretty  quick  strokes, 
holding  them  in  the  same  position  as  when  you  swim 
on  the  belly. 

If  a  person  should  be  seized  with  the  cramp  in  the 
leg  while  swimming,  Dr.  Franklin  recommends 
while  thus  lying  on  the  back  to  lift  the  leg  out  of  the 
water,  and  give  it  a  sudden,  vigorous,  and  violent 
jerk  in  the  air. 

Treading  water,  as  it  is  called,  is  another  mode  of 
resting.  To  perform  this,  the  swimmer  suffers  his 
feet  to  sink  till  his  whole  body  is  in  an  erect  position, 
and  then  he  raises  his  feet  a  httle  way  and  depresses 
them  alternately,  as  a  man  does  when  he  sets  any 
machinery  in  motion  by  means  of  two  treadles,  at 
the  same  time  moving  his  hands  up  and  down  in  a 
similar  manner  just  before  him,  the  elbows  being 
bent. 

When  a  person  is  tolerably  expert  at  swimming, 
it  will  be  highly  advisable  for  him,  to  practice  occa- 
sionally with  all  his  clothes  on,  as  he  will  most  pro- 
bably be  in  this  situation,  if  at  any  time  he  should  fall 
into  the   water   by   accident.       My   teacher  never 


101 

swims  without  a  linen  jacket,  and  long  trowsers  •; 
and  he  assures  me,  that  he  can  swim  in  his  great 
coat  and  boots. 

Young  persons  after  they  are  capable  of  swimming, 
should  practice  leaping  into  the  water  from  consider- 
able heights,  since  this  may  be  useful  to  them  in  va- 
rious cases.  In  this  no  farther  instructions  are  ne- 
cessary, than  to  begin  whh  little  heights,  take  care 
not  to  fall  on  the  belly,  and,  if  you  leap  in  head  fore- 
most, to  protect  the  forehead  from  the  stroke  of  the 
water  with  one  hand.*  It  is  safest  likew^ise  to  keep 
the  legs  close  together. — Salzmann. 

^  If  the  two  hands  be  joined,  and  held  just  above  the  forepart  of 
the  head,  this  I  should  think  unnecessary.  It  is  requisite,  however, 
that  the  water  should  be  of  a  sufficient  depth,  proportionable  to  the 
height  from  which  you  leap.  I  remember  when  a  youth,  on  leap- 
ing from  a  bridge  into  a  river  about  eight  or  nine  feet  deep,  I  struck 
the  crown  of  my  head  a  smart  blow  against  a  broad  stone  at  the  bot- 
tom; this,  had  the  place  from  which  I  leaped  been  higher,  or  had  the 
stone  been  pointed  instead  of  flat,  might  have  been  attended  with 
serious  consequences.  Perhaps  the  best  way  of  leaping  into  the  wa- 
ter, on  several  accounts,  if  the  height  be  at  all  considerable,  is  with 
the  feet  foremost,  taking  particular  care,  to  keep  the  legs  close,  and 
folding  the  arms  acrost  the  breast. — T. 


102 


GZ.OSSAR-S-. 


A. 

Abdomen.     The  belly. 

Acidity.     Sourness. 

Acrid.     Of  a  hot  biting  taste. 

Acrimonious.     Sharp. 

Adulterate.     To  corrupt  by  some  foreign  admixture. 

Antisceptic.      Having  the  power  to  resist  or  correct 

putrefaction. 
Aqueous.     Watery. 

Aromatic.     Spicy,  fragrant,  strong  scented. 
Artery.     An  artery  is  a  conical  canal,  conveying  the 

blood  from  the  heart  into  all  parts  of  the  body. 
Asthmatic.     Troubled  with  an  asthma. 
.^stringent.     Binding,  contracting. 
Attenuate.     Made  thin,  or  slender. 

C. 

Calcination,     Such  amanagement  of  bodies  by  fire, 

as  renders  them  reducible  to  powder. 
Carbon.     Charcoal. 
Catarrh.     A  disease  of  the  head. 
Cellular.     Consisting  of  httle  cells  or  cavities. 


103 

Chyle.     The  white  juice  formed  in  the  stomach  by 

digestion  of  the  aliment. 
C-}iicentrate.     To  collect  into  a  narrow  compass. 
Condense.     Thick,  close,  weighty. 
Constringe.     To  contract,  to  bind. 
Contaminate.     To  defile,  or  corrupt. 
Costive.     Bound  in  the  body. 
Crude.     Raw,  harsh,  unripe. 
Cutaneous.     Of  the  skin. 

D. 

Diluted.     To  weaken  with  water. 

Diuretic.     Having  the  power  to  prov^oke  urine. 

Dyspeptic.     Troubled  with  indigestion. 

E. 

Effluvia.  Those  particles  which  are  continually  fly- 
ing off  from  bodies. 

Emollient.     Softening. 

Exhale.     To  send  or  draw  out  vapours  or  fumes. 

Exhalations.  Tiie  act  of  exhaling  or  sending  out  in 
vapours. 

Exhilarate.     To  make  cheerful. 

Equilibrium.     Equipoise,  equality  of  weight. 

Exotic.     Foreign,  not  produced  in  our  country. 


Farinaceous.     Mealy. 
Fdhrile.     Constituting  a  fever. 


104 

Fibre.     The  smallest  organized  part. 

Filter.     To  strain. 

Flatulent,     Turgid  with  air,  windy. 

H. 

Heterogeneous,     Opposite,  or  dissimilar  in  nature. 
Humour,     The  different  kinds  of  moisture  in  man's 
body. 

L. 

Laxative.     Having  the  power  to  reUeve  costiveness. 
Leguminous.     Belonging  to  pulse. 

M. 

Membrane.  A  web  of  several  sorts  of  fibres  inter- 
woven together,  for  the  covering  and  wrapping  up 
some  parts. 

Mitigate.     To  soften  ;  to  alleviate. 

Mucilage.     A  slimy,  or  vicous  mass. 

Muscles.  The  fleshy  fibrous  part  of  an  animal  body,, 
the  immediate  instrument  of  motion. 

N. 

JVauseous.     Loathsome. 

JVostrum.     A  medicine  known  only  to  one* 

O. 

Obtund.     To  blunt,  to  dull,  to  quell,  to  deaden. 
Oxygen.     Basis  of  vital  air,  acidifying  principle,  S2;c. 


105 

P. 

Phenomenon,      An  appearance. 
Physical.     Relating  to  nature. 
Physiological.      Relating  to  the  doctrine  of  the  nat- 
ural constitution  of  things. 
Phlegmatic.     Abounding  in  phlegm. 
Phlethoric.     Replete  with  blood. 
Pulmonic.     Belonging  to  the  lungs. 
Putrescence.     The  state  of  rotting. 

R. 

Rancid.     Strong  scented. 
S. 

Saliva.  Every  thing  that  is  spit  up  ;  it  more  strictly 
signifies  that  juice  which  is  separated  by  the 
glands,  called  Salival. 

Satiety.     Fullness  beyond  desire,  or  pleasure. 

Secretion.  The  part  of  the  animal  economy  that 
consists  in  separating  the  various  fluids  of  the  bo- 
dy ;  the  fluid  secreted. 

Soluble.  Capable  of  dissolution,  or  separation  of 
parts. 

Solution.  Matter  dissolved,  that  which  contains 
any  thing  dissolved. 

T. 

Tepid.     Lukewarm,  warm  in  a  small  degree- 
Transition.      Change. 


106 

V. 

T^aletudinarian.     A  person  of  delicate  health. 

Vanilla.     A  plant. 

Vitiate.     To  make  less  pure. 

Viscid.     Glutinous. 


107 


INDEX, 


PAGE. 

Preface 

3 

Of  Air,  or  Atmosphere 

5 

Of  Insensible  Perspiration 

19 

Of  Food  and  Drink 

24 

Exercise 

49 

Sleep 

66 

Cleanliness 

62 

Clothing 

63 

Of  the  means  of  preserving  Health,  and  of  obtain- 

ing Longevity 

75 

On  Bathing  and  Swimming 

84 

Glossary 

102 

RETURN        MARIAN  KOSHLAND  BIOSCIENCE  AND 
TO  — f                NATURAL  RESOURCES  LIBRARY 

2101  Valley  Life  Sciences  BIdg.    642-2531 

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